The Summer of Changing Hearts
by AliMariexxx
Summary: After graduating Bella spends the summer having fun on her dad's farm and spending time with her friend Jacob Black. Over the summer weeks Bella realizes that Jacob is no longer the boy she grew up with, but the man she wants to spend her life with.
1. Chapter 1

Thank you to the wonderful jkane180 for being my Beta... you rock! This story was inspired by the Funny or Die, NFL Lockout skit that Taylor did. I hope you all enjoy it and I would love to hear what you think, so please review and leave some feedback. Ali x

All recognizable characters belong to Stephanie Meyer!

Chapter 1

I sat on the porch swing, flicking through a current affairs magazine, reading the celebrity gossip, and laughing to myself about the latest outlandish behaviour of one actress. I glanced up from the painted faces and slender bodies of the rich and famous, to take in my surroundings. It was so quiet and peaceful here, a complete contrast to the images staring up at me from the glossy pages in my hands. I really could understand and appreciate why my dad loved it here so much.

Directly in front of the house I could see the corn field. The plants were so tall they towered over me, and I could hear them rustling eerily in the slight breeze. The field wasn't huge, but you could lose your bearings pretty quickly if you ran through it, and trust me: I would know. I often got a little lost and frightened when I was younger, only for my dad, Charlie, to come find me and wrap me in his arms soothingly. He'd then scold me lightly, while stifling a chuckle or two, for venturing into the field. To either side of the field were a couple of large paddocks. We had some stables at the back of the house which we rented out to some locals in town. They came and took care of their own horses and used the paddocks for exercising them; we just supplied the stables, hay, and land, which provided a reasonable income all year round.

Beyond the corn field was a fairly large wood, which had a small stream flowing through it, and at its center was a beautiful creek where Dad and I would fish whenever I was visited him. On the other side of the wood was La Push, the Quileute Reservation, and it's beautiful cliffs and beaches.

Charlie and I were regular visitors to the Reservation, and I had many great memories of visiting my dad when I was younger and enjoying wonderful barbequed food around glowing warm bonfires on the beach and staying up late listening to magical stories. My mother Renee left Charlie when I was two years old, saying she couldn't bear to live so remotely. She was a city girl at heart and really couldn't settle on the farm. It was far too secluded, and being on the outskirts of Forks near the border of La Push meant there were no shops in walking distance. The center of Forks was about a fifteen minute drive away. Not far for most people, but too far for Renee. Also, it was pretty small, with a few shops for necessities, but no real big chain stores, and Renee loved shopping. For a real shopping spree she had to venture into Port Angeles, which although bigger than Forks, was much further away and not all that much bigger.

She also loved the sun, and unfortunately, Forks has never been known for its glorious sunny weather...for its downpours, maybe! Renee loved Charlie immensely, and he insisted to this day that she really did try to feel at home here, but after she had me, she became more and more restless. They started arguing a lot, and in the end Charlie told her go. I think he hoped that after she'd had a break she'd want to come back, but she didn't. She took me with her, and we went to live in California. It was so Renee; it had the sun and the bustling lifestyle she craved. We visited Charlie for a couple of weeks each summer, and Renee was always itching to leave by the end of the visit.

Then, when I was eight years old she started feeling unsettled again and decided she wanted to travel around Europe. Charlie didn't like the idea of me living like a 'nomad' and being so far away, so he insisted that I live with him on the farm. He gave a pretty good argument; clean air, regular schooling, and a settled home life. It didn't take a lot of convincing for Renee to agree that I move back to Forks to live with Charlie. That was ten years ago and I couldn't imagine living anywhere else.

It was early evening, and the sun, which had made an appearance, was low in the sky. The air had turned slightly cooler, and I shivered a little as a chilly breeze ran across my bare arms. Looking out across the field, my mind turned to college. "Argh" I groaned. I really didn't want to go to college; hell, I would have been more than happy just getting a job in town, but Charlie had been pretty insistent that I continue my education after I graduated. I'd sent off some applications, under Charlie's watchful eye, and had a few offers come back, and now it was decision time. Well! I didn't want to think about it today; school finished yesterday, today was Thursday, so I told myself "N_ext week. Enjoy the weekend and think about_ _it next week."_ I returned my gaze to the magazine and flipped the page, and well, hello! That was more like it...there, in my hands, was the bare-chested body of a gorgeous new young actor. I started reading his interview, after scrutinizing his picture of course, when suddenly, a loud deep laugh made me jump. Around the side of the house, heading my way, was Jacob Black, followed by his two friends, Embry Call and Quil Ateara.

"Seriously, Jake! Man... you should have seen him. It was fucking hilarious, right, Em?"

Jacob and Embry were carrying a pile of logs each, and Quil was walking backwards in front of them, doing a little skip every few steps to avoid causing a pile-up.

Jacob was laughing so hard, and Embry was shaking his head from side to side with a huge grin on his face.

"It's true Jake, I swear... Jared is soooo pissed we're gonna hear about this for weeks... no, months!"

At that moment, Quil, rubbing his hands together like the big kid he was, tripped and fell backwards onto his butt. Jacob and Embry, unable to stop in time, each caught a foot on one of Quil's feet and stumbled. Both managed to keep their balance, but logs rained down from their arms. Luckily, the majority landed on the hard ground. A couple caught Quil on the shins, and he cursed loudly while Jacob and Embry doubled over with laughter.

Of course I, being witness to the whole sorry fiasco, couldn't help but laugh out loud. Seeing Quil writhing around on the floor howling and holding his shins while Jacob and Embry tried to control their laughter enough to pick up the fallen logs was just too much for my pensive mood; I laughed so hard my eyes filled with tears that were soon streaming down my face.

Jake, Embry, and Quil all looked up at the porch at the same time. They obviously hadn't seen me and Quil turned a deep shade of red.

"Hey, Bells," Jake called, still laughing, "wanna give us a hand over here?" He threw his arms out, motioning towards the logs.

Quil suddenly perked up and called, "Yeah, give us a hand, Bella. Jake said you like to get down and dirty!"

Embry snorted loudly.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you to the wonderful jkane180 for being my Beta... ! I hope you all enjoy this and I would love to hear what you think, so please review and leave some feedback. Ali x

All recognizable characters belong to Stephanie Meyer!

Chapter 2

Jake gave Quil a swift kick.

"Ow! What was that for?"

Jake rolled his eyes and looked up at me.

I knew whatever it was Jake told Quil would have been completely innocent. However, Quil always seemed to turn most comments into some kind of sexual innuendo. I stood up from the swing, put my magazine on the padded seat, and made my way down the porch steps to where the guys were. I stood above Quil, who still hadn't moved from his position on the ground, and put my hands on my hips.

"Mmm let me think..." I looked at Jacob and raised my right hand to rub my chin thoughtfully.

"I'm _always_ down and dirty; I can't deny it." I looked back at Quil with a little smirk.

"And although I hate to admit it, Quil, we've got something in common: - I have trouble staying on my feet and often end up on my ass too!" Jacob and Embry were both chuckling, and had started picking up the logs around them.

"Therefore, I'm quite often down! Now...as for dirty, yep," I made a point of popping the p, "I'm soooo dirty, living on a farm... it kind of comes with the territory!"

Quil started to get up, smiling, and I lent him a hand, which he gladly took, although I was sure he really didn't need my help. Quil could be a bit of a pervert at times, but he really was quite harmless and one of the nicest guys you could ever know. As he got to his feet, still holding on to my hand, he pulled me in to him, bent down to my ear, and spoke huskily.

"But, Bella... I could really show you how to get down and dirty!"

I looked up at him, and he wiggled his eyebrows.

"In fact, after a short time with Quil, baby... oh, the things I could teach you... you'd be the dirtiest girl around here."

"Ewwww! _You_ are impossible," I shrieked as I laughingly pushed him away. "Anyway," I continued as Quil laughed and started picking up logs, "I can assure you Jake has seen me at my utmost dirtiest, and it's not a pretty sight... right Jake?"

"Hey, come on, Bells... don't bring me into this." He chuckled, shaking his head, and looked between Quil and me.

I gave him my sweetest, innocent, pleading look and even batted my eyelashes. I was really hoping he would pick up on it and play along.

"Yeah, yeah, you know you're at your sexiest when you're on your ass, covered in mud" Jake winked at me, and it didn't go unnoticed by Quil and Embry, who had stopped what they were doing and were looking between the two of us.

Quil just couldn't resist. "Ummm this mud... was it... like, wet? And was there... you know... umm, wrestling involved?"

I just couldn't stop myself and let out a very unladylike snort. Jake roared with laughter, and Quil was grinning from ear to ear.

"Seriously, guys," Embry interjected, rolling his eyes with a shake off his head. "Stop encouraging him, please!"

"Okay let's get these logs around to the barn and then head home." Jake was still smiling. "I'll see you tomorrow, Bells. I promised Charlie I'd take a look at the tractor and make sure it's running right before the big season starts."

"Okay, Jake, see you tomorrow." I walked back up the porch steps, turned, and waved.

"Bye guys," I called as they picked up the last of the logs and started walking off towards the barn.

"See ya', Bella." Quil and Embry replied in unison.

I picked up my magazine and walked into the house, still laughing to myself. I passed the living room, and Charlie was sitting in front of the TV, feet up, watching the news.

"Hey, Dad, you okay with chicken salad tonight?" I called to him as I entered the kitchen.

"Whatever's easiest for you honey. You know I'll eat it no matter what!"

I started to get the ingredients out of the fridge and grabbed the other things I needed.

"What was all that noise outside about? I thought one of you kids would end up having a heart attack you were laughing so hard." Charlie inquired.

"Oh, you know, the usual. Jake and the guys were goofing around, and we teased Quil a bit; nothing out of the ordinary." I answered, smiling to myself, "Sorry if we disturbed you. We didn't mean to be so loud."

"Hey honey, don't you be sorry for having fun. I love hearing you kids laughing around the place. It's like sunshine on the gloomiest day!" Awww, Charlie really was a sweetheart, and I loved him so much.

"I think you're going soft in your old age Dad." I smiled at him as I walked into the living room drying my hands on a kitchen towel.

"No, honey, I just appreciate what I've got, and I wouldn't change it for world."

I leaned down over the back of the chair and kissed Charlie on his forehead "Yeah, love you too, Dad!"

I walked back to the kitchen and started making dinner. I couldn't help laughing to myself about the guys and how funny they were. I had gotten to know Quil and Embry over the past few years and got along with them really well. Quil had always been really silly and funny, but as we had got older, he'd started getting really flirty. It wasn't just aimed at me; he was like that with any and every, female in the vicinity. Embry was pretty quiet and usually the sensible guy. You could rely on Embry to retell an event without exaggeration or embellishments, unlike Quil. They'd both gone to school on the reservation with Jacob and were the same age, which was a year older than me.

For as long as I could remember, Jacob had always been around. When I lived with Renee and visited Charlie in the summer, Jacob and I had apparently played together constantly. I guess it helped that Charlie and Jacob's dad, Billy Black, were the best of friends and were always at each other's houses. Jacob's mom Sarah was also quite friendly with Renee, but when Renee left, their friendship soured, and Sarah and Billy really helped Charlie get over the break-up.

When I moved back to the farm, Billy and Sarah were like my extended family. I even slipped a couple of times and called Sarah "Mom." She responded with a beautiful smile and the warmest hug ever. The Blacks always made me feel as though I was a part of their family. Jacob, on the other hand, was going through a stage of not wanting to play with girls anymore. He had two older sisters, Rachel and Rebecca, who didn't really pay me much attention and preferred to play by themselves. They were never mean to me and always made me feel welcome when I visited, but I just never really had anything in common with them - whereas Jacob and I would always find exciting things to do like hunting for bugs, swimming, or fishing in the creek and having mud ball fights. Jacob always joked that I was like a brother to him, and I felt honored.

But the summer I came back to live with Charlie, Jacob wouldn't play with me. He said I was a girl and he should only play with boys, and he didn't want to be my friend anymore. I remember I ran home crying and told Charlie I hated Jacob Black.

I sobbed to Charlie, "But, Daddy, how can Jacob not want to play with me because I'm a girl when his stupid hair is longer than mine? He looks more like a girl than me..." I held onto Charlie's shirt, and he soothed me gently but scolded me for making fun of Jacob's hair.

"Now, Bells, I know you're upset, but Jake is at that age where he thinks girls are silly and yucky" I sniffed into Charlie's shirt as he continued, "All boys go through a stage of not liking girls. It's not cool for him at the moment, but he's a good kid, you two always have lots of fun, and he'll miss you like crazy. Before you know it, he'll be back here begging you to go swimming or look for bugs; you'll see. But you shouldn't make fun of his hair, honey. You know he's Quileute, and most boys on the reservation have long hair. You should respect that."

"Well, I know that, Dad... and I do respect it... really, I do! But someone needs to speak to him about it... Jacob's an idiot and doesn't respect that I'm a girl and can't be a boy... argh, I hate him!" I wailed loudly, mainly because I felt guilty for making fun of Jacob's hair and then being scolded for it. The truth was I loved Jacob's long black hair, his goofy smile, and his lovely dark skin, and I didn't hate him at all.

Charlie was right; Jacob avoided me for a few days, and I saw him around the farm in the evenings helping out here and there. I caught him looking over at me and I purposely lifted my chin and dramatically looked away. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me upset. I'd show him I could have fun on my own without Jacob Black.

Then one Saturday morning, I was in the big barn sitting on top of the tractor, playing some make-believe game, when Jacob walked in looking sheepish.

"Hey, Bells." He was looking down at his feet and kicking at some hay that was laying there. "Whatcha doing?"

"None of your business, _boy_!" And I carried on, making engine noises and pretending to drive the tractor.

"Bella... look... I'm really sorry, and, ummm... I've been thinking."

I still didn't pay him any attention and carried on my pretend journey, although now I was pretending the tractor was headed his way!

"You're not really a girly girl, so, umm... I think it'd be cool if we did hang out... if you wanted too, cause really, you're just like a boy, and I could... like, pretend you're a boy, if that's okay with you?"

"Umph, well, actually, no, it's not okay... I'm a girl. I just don't like doing girly things, but I won't let you pretend I'm a boy cause I'm not one, and girls happen to be the best, and everybody knows that... so there!"

The tractor was picking up speed, and Jacob wasn't moving. Soon, I would have my revenge and he'd be flat as a pancake.

"Okay, fine, I won't pretend you're a boy." Now he looked up at me. "I was thinking something else too..."

He had my attention now. "Ummm?"

"Well, umm... I think since we like the same things, and you're not really girly, and I _don't _like girls," he almost spat it out, "we should, um... you know, stick together. Then when we're bigger... just get married, cause then I don't have to meet any more girls." He said the last bit so fast I had to think for a second, "W_hat did he say?"_

"Ewwww, no way! I'm not getting married... especially not to you, Jacob Black!"

"Well, all right... but I think it's a good idea, and... I think you should think about it." Jacob was really looking up at me now and had started walking slowly toward the tractor.

I really wanted to stay angry with him, but at the same time, I was really happy that he had come back to me. And from the way he was eyeing the tractor, I could tell he wanted to join in my game.

"Yeah, okay, I'll think about it. So anyway, are you gonna play on this tractor now or what?"

Jacob gave me his goofiest grin and climbed up beside me to take over the wheel.

After that, Jacob and I were almost inseparable. He was always on the farm, helping out, and as he got older, Charlie starting paying him a small salary for working weekends. Jacob refused to take anything at first, saying he loved helping out, but Charlie insisted, especially when Jacob showed a real flare for fixing the tractors or doing any type of building or repair work.

When he graduated last year, he was accepted on an Agricultural course at Washington State University, but Billy had become ill, and Jacob didn't want to leave his mum alone to look after his dad. So he decided to defer for a couple of years and stay at home to help out. The University was very understanding and was happy to defer Jacob's place, due to personal circumstances. But it was a difficult time for the Blacks. Billy and Sarah were so proud of Jacob being accepted on the course, so when he decided he wanted to defer, they weren't happy. Obviously Billy felt really guilty that it was his ill health stopping his son from continuing his education, and Sarah tried to convince Jacob that she could manage to look after Billy with the help of Charlie and their other friends, Harry and Sue Clearwater. But Jacob, being as stubborn as he could be, refused to change his mind.

After a long discussion with Billy and Sarah, Charlie offered Jacob work on the farm full-time with a full salary. It wasn't much, but it was a regular wage, and it was on the condition that he continued his education after a couple of years, providing his personal circumstances didn't change. Charlie and Jacob even had a little contract drawn up between them so that Jacob couldn't go back on the condition, and Billy and Sarah felt much better about the arrangement.

I plated up dinner for myself and Charlie and set the dining table. Charlie must have heard the sound of cutlery and crockery, since he wandered in to the kitchen and took a seat at the table. I got myself a glass of water and offered Charlie a beer, which he gladly accepted.

"Mmmm, looks good, Bells."

"Dad, it's just salad. No major cooking skills required." I smiled at him.

"Well, it's a darn sight better than I could ever do." he chuckled as he tucked in.

I got up to pull some warm bread from the oven, placed it in the center of the table, and got some butter from the fridge.

"So what do you have planned for tomorrow? I need to pop into town at some point to run some errands. Sue and Sarah will be coming over in the afternoon to make some jelly, and I said I'd pick up some supplies while I was there. Although, thinking about it, I don't know how I got talked into that one." Charlie spoke in between mouthfuls.

"Nothing planned. Jake said he needed to take a look at the tractor, so I might sit with him and read for a bit. I could give Sue and Sarah a hand if they need it, but they're usually so well organized, I'd just be in their way."

Sue and Sarah would often use our kitchen if they were making or baking large quantities of food, since it was quite a bit bigger than their own. We also had a store room, just off the kitchen, where the finished produce could be kept. They'd be making jelly to sell at the big open day we had on the farm each year at the beginning of the summer season. We had smaller open days throughout the summer, where people could come and pick their own fruits and vegetables. Some of our friends from the reservation sold their handmade crafts, like dream-catchers, wooden carvings, and beaded jewellery and accessories, and some of the local store holders in Forks would bring a small supply of their goods to sell. We charged a small fee for them to have a stall, but what they made from their own sales was theirs to keep. Each year, our open days were getting bigger, and it was a great way for the two communities to come together.

"Nonsense, Bells, you know they love having you around to help out," Charlie said before finishing his last mouthful.

"Yeah, okay we'll see." I smiled at him as he got up and took his plate over to the basin.

He started filling it with water, but I told him not to worry about washing up. I would do it as soon as I'd finished my food.

"Okay, honey, thanks for dinner. It was lovely." And with that, he wandered back off to the living room, taking another beer with him as he passed the fridge.

Once I'd tidied up the kitchen and put everything away, I went up to my room. On my way, I told Charlie I was going to read for a bit and then go to sleep, so I'd see him in the morning. When I got to my room, I saw my phone on the bedside table and, realizing I'd left it there, thought I'd better check for messages. I had a text message from my friend Angela.

"Hey, B, is it ok if I come over tomorrow? I'm missing u already! lol x."

"lol u r crazy , it's been 1 day & of course it's ok. What time, B x"

"Not sure yet! I'll text u when I'm on my way. Luv u x"

The girl was crazy. Angela was my best school friend and the complete opposite of me. She loved to dress to impress and was always trying to get me to wear something other than jeans and a t-shirt. She never really forced the issue, and she wasn't a bitch. Yeah, she couldn't understand why I liked to live in jeans, but she liked and accepted me for who I was.

After a lovely hot shower, I dried my hair, got into bed and read for about an hour.

As I reached over to switch off my bedside lamp, my phone beeped, indicating I had a new text message. I couldn't help but laugh when I read it.

"Night, Bells, u r a dirty, girl! J x"

I quickly typed out my reply, "lol Nope, just had a shower! Night, Jake, c u in the am. X," and pressed send.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you to the wonderful jkane180 for being my Beta... ! I hope you all enjoy this chapter and thank you so much for the reviews and feedback. Ali x

All recognizable characters belong to Stephanie Meyer!

Chapter 3

I woke up to the sun shining through my window, which was a real treat, and rolled over to check the time on my alarm clock. I hadn't bothered to set the alarm, since I didn't have to get up for school, but my body clock must have kicked in: as it was 7:00am. At least I'd slept in a little bit. Unbelievably I'd gotten used to the cockerel, cock-a-doodle-doodling at 5:00am and slept through it most mornings, so I had relied on my alarm when I was at school.

I got out of bed, pulled on my grey sweat pants and put my hair up in a messy bun. I went to the bathroom, quickly brushed my teeth and wandered down stairs. I knew Charlie had been up already and taken a walk down to the mail box to pick up the morning paper. Sure enough, I pulled open the front door, and there sat Charlie, nose deep in the sports pages.

"Morning, Dad," I said sweetly and walked over to where he sat.

"Hey, morning Bells, and what a lovely morning it is too!" He glanced up from his paper and looked out across the fields.

"What would you like for breakfast?" I asked, already knowing what his reply would be - it was Friday, after all. He didn't often surprise me when it came to breakfast.

"Oh, well, if you don't mind, honey, I'll have the usual." he replied and returned to his newspaper.

I walked into the kitchen and started pulling the bacon and eggs from the fridge. I got out the ingredients for pancakes and automatically put them into a mixing bowl. I stuck the bacon under the grill – I had started grilling rather than frying to try to get Charlie to eat healthier, and he had started enjoying healthier things without turning his nose up.

I heard voices out on the porch and knew Jacob had arrived. I started piling cooked bacon onto a plate at the side of the stove and cracked a few eggs into a pan to scramble.

"Mmm, smells good, Bells." Jacob made an exaggerated sniff as he walked over to stand beside me.

Jacob always came over for breakfast since he'd started working full time on the farm. Sarah made sure he had a breakfast before he left home each morning, so it never failed to amaze me how he could put away another huge breakfast when he got to our place, considering he only lived about five or ten minutes away.

I started to pour the batter onto the hot plate when I saw Jacob's hand sneakily come out and take a piece of bacon. I quickly went to swat his hand away, but he was too fast for me and rammed the whole piece into his mouth in one go.

"Right, mister, you get less now for being such a pig," I said as I shoved at his arm to push him away, but he stood firm and didn't budge. He then cheekily leaned down towards me, put his face close to mine, closed his eyes, and moaned loudly, as though he had just tasted the most delicious piece of bacon in the world and was savoring the flavor.

I quickly picked up my wooden spoon and put a splodge of batter on the end of his nose. His eyes shot open, and we both laughed loudly as he coolly wiped the batter off with his hand.

"Funny Swan... very funny." He looked at me from under his lashes, and I knew he was contemplating doing something to get me back. Both our eyes scanned for immediate ammunition.

"Mhmm... hey, you two... no food fights! Not at this time of the morning and not in my kitchen!"

Jacob and I swiftly turned to see Charlie enter the kitchen and take a seat at the dining table.

Jacob opened up one of the cupboards and took out three glasses, which he filled with orange juice, handed one to Charlie, and placed mine and his at our placemats.

Charlie opened up his paper again. "So, Jake... I understand you're gonna have a good look at my baby today!"

Jacob pulled a chair out from under the table and quickly glanced over to me and back to Charlie, who was hidden behind his paper.

"Er... yeah? Oh... the tractor, umm, yeah... I'm gonna check it over, make sure she's running right." Jake seemed to hesitate for a couple of seconds but quickly went on, "I was thinking when I was done doing that, I'd take a look at the fence on the north side of the large paddock. It looks pretty beat up. Unless, you need me to do anything else?"

I carried the bacon, eggs, and pancakes over to the table and placed them in the middle. Charlie and Jacob started piling the food onto their plates, and Jacob turned towards me, putting his hand out to receive the syrup bottle I was about to pass him. I laughed inwardly and rolled my eyes at the automatic motion between us. As Jacob smothered his food in syrup, I pulled out a chair and joined them.

"Sounds like a plan to me, Jake. I won't be around for a couple of hours though. I'm headed into town for a bit, but it'd be great if you could have at look at that fence when you get a chance." Charlie started shovelling food into his mouth and continued, "Oh, yeah, and Sam's bringing over his new assistant to take a look at the horses, think his name's Edward. He's helping Sam out over the summer."

Sam Uley was our local veterinarian who lived with his wife Emily on the reservation but had a clinic in Forks. He would often pop in to check on the horses and had said that this summer he'd taken on an assistant, who was in his third year of studying Veterinary Science.

"Not sure what time Sam was thinking of dropping by, but it'd be good if one of you could keep an eye open for him."

"No problem, Charlie. I should be able to hear them arrive from the barn." Jacob replied, after finishing up his last mouthful and chugging down his orange juice.

I hadn't eaten much myself, but I started clearing the plates away while Charlie and Jacob continued to talk about work and our, up and coming open day.

"So, Jake, you happy to continue your role as tour guide this year?" Charlie asked, chuckling.

"Oh, come on, Charlie, you know it!" Jacob shot back without hesitation, leaning back in his chair and stretching his arms out behind his head.

I smiled to myself, while I washed the plates. There was no way on earth Jacob would hand over his role to anybody else. For the past few years, Jacob had been in charge of the tractor rides on our open days. He hitched up one of the old wagons onto the back of the tractor and drove around the farm, pointing out the barns, fields, and any animals you could see, which wouldn't be many, since they were scared away by the noise. Quil and Embry sat in the wagon and helped people get on and off safely. They also kept a watchful eye on the younger passengers to ensure there were no mishaps. The rides proved to be very popular, especially amongst the younger children who attended, and females of all ages, young girls to older ladies, who were able to get on the wagon and sit comfortably for the duration of the ride.

Jacob took his role of tour guide very seriously and even donned his denim overalls for the occasion. I remember when he first put them on. I just fell to pieces in fits of laughter and said he looked like some hillbilly. Jacob looked very offended and said solemnly that he thought they made him look quite sexy and he liked them. Seeing his puppy dog eyes looking at me, I got control of my laughter and told him they did "look appropriate for the occasion." However, once I got over the initial reaction, I had to admit to myself that Jacob certainly knew how to wear denim overalls and didn't think they would look half as good on anyone else. I would never admit that to him though.

Jacob finished off his look with a thoroughly modern pair of aviator sun glasses, providing there was sun, a white t-shirt, and a piece of straw hanging from his mouth.

The sound of chairs scraping across the floor brought me out of my thoughts. I'd finished washing the breakfast things, and Jacob had joined me, and started drying and putting away.

"Don't worry about that Jake. You go ahead and get started. I'll be out after I wash and get dressed," I said as I took the towel away from him.

"If you're sure, Bells" He relented and let go of the towel "And thanks for breakfast," he said as he turned to leave the kitchen.

It was funny how our mornings were such a regular, comfortable routine. The only time I didn't see Jacob at breakfast was when I was at school, since I'd have already left before he arrived. But even then, I would make sure I'd cooked or prepared enough of whatever we were having and leave a plate for Jacob. Being around him was just so easy and natural. I didn't have to think about what I could and couldn't say when I was with him. We could and would discuss most things with each other without embarrassment or fear of being judged by the other. Sometimes, we'd talk endlessly for hours about the stupidest things or have serious, in depth discussions. Other times, we could sit for hours in silence, barely a couple of words passing between us, but our silence was never uncomfortable and our conversations were never forced. Jacob was an amazing friend, and I felt privileged to have his friendship in return.

After I washed and dressed, I grabbed a book, my phone, and iPod, and made my way over to the barn. Jacob had already started getting his tools out and ready to use. He looked up and nodded at me, as I walked through the big open doors. I went over to the stack of hay bales – yeah, Quil had a great time with that joke a while ago. He'd fall over laughing every time Jacob greeted me with, "Hey, Bells," and would repeat, "Hay, Bales, fucking hilarious, Jake." thankfully the novelty had worn off pretty quickly – got myself comfy and opened up my book.

"Whatcha reading?" Jake motioned towards my book.

"Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Do you know it?"

Jacob rolled his eyes.

"Duh. What do you take me for Bells? Of course I know it. Wouldn't say it's my type of book though." He screwed his nose up.

"Well, I wouldn't have thought it would be, Mr. Black," I replied in a haughty voice.

Jacob let out a low chuckle and started tampering with the engine.

At some point, Jacob switched on the radio after asking if I minded, to which I replied that I didn't and it was fine. I continued to read and re-read a few lines as I found the old English quite hard to follow in some places. I was totally engrossed in my book when I became aware of Jacob, singing along to some rock song that was playing quietly. As he got more into the song, his voice started getting louder and louder. I lifted my eyes from the page without moving my head to look in his direction and could see him bobbing his head along and wiping his hands on his dirty rag.

"Oh my god, Jake, if Sam arrives now, he'll think we're torturing some poor beast, with noise you're making." I looked at him fully now, shaking my head and wrinkling my nose jokingly in disgust.

"Oh, come on, Bells, admit it! You love my voice..." he said then continued to sing even louder.

I covered my ears and shook my head in mock horror. "Make it stop! It's awful. I'm begging you!"

Jacob started walking towards me and stopped when he was about ten feet in front of me. Putting the end of his dirty rag in his back pocket, he turned his back to me.

"Okay honey, the voice might be a no go, but you know you can't resist my moves." He started gyrating his hips to the music and wiggling his ass at me. He clapped his hands in time to the music and continued singing.

I was laughing loudly now and had my hand over my mouth and eyes, although, I was definitely peeking. Jacob was my best friend, but being a girl or young women, I was well aware of what other girls saw when they looked at him. He was at least 6' 2" and had the most beautiful tan skin I had ever seen. His hair was midnight black and now cropped short – he cut his beautiful long hair when he graduated, saying it just wasn't practical in his line of work, but his short hair suited him really well and he often spiked it up to give him an edgy look. He had really filled out over the last few years too. As a child, he was always pretty skinny, and as he got older and grew taller, he took on quite a gangly appearance. But over the last couple of years, Jacob had starting getting muscles, and I wasn't talking normal, toned muscle; I'm talking bulging biceps and sculpted pecs and abs.

I remembered last year, Jacob was fixing one of the chicken coops, and he must have worked up a bit of a sweat. Angela and I were coming back from the stables and approaching the coop when Jacob took off his t-shirt. Angela literally stopped dead in her tracks and let out a low whistle, to which Jacob turned, grinned, and waved at us, then carried on hammering.

I thought Angela had gone into a catatonic state for a few minutes after; she couldn't walk or verbally converse, and her eyes took on a glazed look. Then she took in a breath and whispered,

"Fuck me, Bella. Did you just see that?" She said gazed at Jacob then looked at me.

"Er, yeah, Ang... it's just Jake!" I whispered back. Okay so I was purposely playing it cool. The last time I'd seen Jake with no shirt on he certainly looked a whole lot different than the ripped guy standing a few feet in front of us.

"And exactly _why haven't you fucked him yet?_" She whispered again.

"_Oh my god,_ Ang, I've told you... it's not like that with me and Jake; we're friends."

"Well, you've heard of fuck buddies, friends with benefits right? Shit, girl, I'd be in there like a shot... and you say _I'm_ crazy?"

I quickly looked at Jacob, and thank goodness, he seemed to be concentrating on doing whatever it was he was doing.

"Come on, let's get back to the house... and stop gawping at him..."

Jacob never asked what Angela and I were whispering about, and I certainly never offered to tell him.

"Bells... hey Bells"

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked up to see Jacob grinning at me.

"Wow, Bells... looked like you were really enjoying the view."

I suddenly realized that while I was deep in thought, staring at Jacob's gyrating ass, he had turned around, and he'd caught me staring at his crotch. I could feel the heat spreading to my cheeks and knew I was blushing. _Oh shit, I'm so busted. I never blush around Jake, what the hell?_

I regained my composure quickly. "Hmmm, can't say there was anything of interest to see..." and picked up my book again.

Jacob lifted the corner of his lips and raised an eyebrow in a smirk then turned away and walked back to the tractor.

I watched him walk away, my eyes fixed on his butt, and I felt the warmth return to my cheeks, but now it was spreading through the rest of my body. _Fuck what is wrong with me today?_

I carried on reading, and Jacob continued looking at the various parts of the tractor, in silence. Every so often, I found myself gazing over at him working and could see how the muscles in his arms and back flexed with every movement. He hadn't sung anymore, but I could hear him occasionally humming to a tune he recognized as it came on the radio.

Then, he knelt down at the side of the tractor with his back to me. As he leaned further over, his white t-shirt began to ride up his back, and his jeans had slipped down slightly. I could see the stark white waistband of his underwear against the dark smooth skin on his back. I licked my lips and looked again, hoping that maybe a little more flesh would be on display. O_kay, now this was getting really weird._

"Hi, Bella."

I looked up to see Leah walk into the barn.

"Oh, hey, Leah, what are you doing here? I thought your mom was coming over this afternoon?" I said it as politely as I could.

Leah Clearwater was Harry and Sue's daughter. She was a couple of years older than me and often spoke down to me, as though I was still a kid. I didn't dislike her, but we just didn't really get on, and I couldn't pin it down to any one thing. I generally tended to avoid being alone with Leah, since we really had very little to say to each other, so I was quite surprised to see her come into the barn.

"Yeah, she is. I was... umm... looking for Jake." She was looking around her as she spoke.

"Oh... he's over there, behind the tractor."

As I indicated where Jacob was bent over, low to the ground, he stood up and looked over at Leah.

"Hey, Lee, what you doing here?" He smiled at her, wiping his hands again on his rag.

"Well, hey, _you_... I came to ask you something."She started walking over towards him, and I couldn't help watching her as she walked. There was a definite emphasis in the sway of her hips.

She stood next to him now, and although her back was to me, I could see her run her hand down his arm and back up again, as she spoke quietly, "Well, you know that... um... film we were talking about the other day?"

Jacob looked confused, and I saw Leah lean in and whisper something to him. He then glanced quickly to me and back to Leah.

Jakes voice was almost a whisper. "Er... yeah... what about it?"

"Mom and Dad are going out tonight for a few hours so... if you... ya' know... want to _watch that film_... you could come over. Seth will be out too." Leah said quietly.

"Umm... what time?"

"Come over at 7:30." And with that she glanced at me. "See ya' Bella." She walked out of the barn without waiting for me to say goodbye.

Jacob stood, watched her go, looked back over at me, and then turned back to the tractor.

I carried on reading, acting as though I hadn't any interest in their little conversation. Normally, I would have thought nothing of asking Jacob what was going on with Leah, but for some reason, today, I didn't think I wanted to know.

Another ten minutes passed, and Jacob started up the tractor a couple of times. We both remained silent, but I could hear him let out a couple of sighs. The exchange with Leah was beginning to bug me. Maybe if it had been someone else it wouldn't have bothered me, but Leah?

I put my book down and walked over to Jacob. He glanced up at me, and I avoided looking at him, fixing my eyes the tool box on the floor by his feet.

"So what film are you two gonna watch?"

Jake didn't look at me now. He was concentrating on some metal part in his hand. "Um... can't remember."

"Oh... I thought Leah said you'd talked about it." W_as_ _he beginning to squirm a little?_

"Er... yeah, we did... but it had one of those stupid titles... and I... um... can't remember it."

I decided not to push it and just let it drop, but after another couple minutes of Jake sighing and putting his hands through his hair, I opened my mouth.

"What's wrong, Jake? Need a screw?" I knew it was a low shot, but for some reason, I was pissed.

"Er... excuse me?" Jake was smiling but had now pulled his eyebrows together in a puzzled frown.

"You know, Jacob... a _screw_... a bolt, monkey wrench. Do you need a _hand_ maybe?" I really didn't know what had come over me.

Jacob looked at me and bit his bottom lip before replying "No thanks, Bells...I'm good here." The joyful banter from earlier had evaporated, and what was left was a chilly void.

"Okay... well, I'm heading back to the house then. I'm not much use to you here at the moment." I turned from Jacob and walked back to pick up my things.

I continued out of the barn and across to the house, not really paying any attention to where I was walking – after all, I knew the farm like the back of my hand. Then suddenly, I bumped into Sam Uley.

"Oh my god, Sam! I'm so sorry. I didn't hear you pull up."

Sam chuckled, "No damage done. Bella, I'd like to introduce you to my assistant, Edward Cullen. Edward, this is Miss Isabella Swan."

"Oh, no, please call me Bella..."


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you to the wonderful jkane180 for being my Beta...! I hope you all enjoy this chapter and thank you again for the wonderful reviews, they are always grately appreciated! Ali x

All recognizable characters belong to Stephanie Meyer!

Chapter 4

"Hi, Bella, it's nice to meet you," Edward said as he held out his hand for me to shake.

"Welcome to Swan Farm, Edward," I replied and shook his hand, making sure I had a good, firm grip. I remembered Charlie telling me once that you should always have a good grip when shaking hands with someone – it showed good strength of character – and that piece of advice had kind of stuck with me ever since.

"Do you mind if we just go ahead a take a look at the horses, Bella? I'd like to go through a few things with Edward. And is Jasper around?"

Jasper Whitlock was our stable boy who took care of the horses for the owners. He fed, watered, exercised, and generally looked after them. He loved the horses and would always be around, busying himself in the stables. He was employed by Charlie, but his salary came out of the income generated by renting out the stables. Jasper had grown up with horses and knew everything there was to know about them, and even though the owners were always visiting the farm to see their animals, they felt very relieved that there was always someone around to look after their horses.

Jasper was pretty quiet, and I always got the impression that he preferred the company of horses to people. Whenever I spoke to him, he always appeared to be off in some other world, but he was really good at what he did and always knew if something wasn't quite right with one of the animals. Sam always met with Jasper, and he filled him in on how they were doing or voiced any concerns he had about their health.

I was never really into horses myself, well, animals in general, I guess, so it was great to have Jasper around to do everything that needed to be done for them. Charlie once offered to buy me my own horse, but I told him I had enough trouble trying to stay upright on my own two legs; god only knows what I would be like trying to control a beast with four. So, to Angela's horror, I declined Charlie's generous offer, and to Jacob's delight, when I was old enough to drive, Charlie brought me my 1953 faded red Chevrolet pick-up truck.

"I haven't seen him today, but I'd imagine he's in the stables by now," I replied, smiling at them both.

"Great, we'll head over there then. See you, Bella." Sam nodded his head at me.

"Good to meet you, Bella," Edward said as he and Sam started walking off in the direction of the stables.

"Yeah, good to meet you too, Edward."

Edward seemed nice enough. I couldn't help noticing he was pretty good looking too. He had a somewhat old-fashioned look about him and dressed smart, but in a casual way. His hair was a light brown, and appeared to be flecked with bronze highlights, and his eyes were a lovely green color. He looked really pale too, a bit like my coloring and nothing like the gorgeous tanned color of Jacob's skin. A_rgh, Jacob_! I suddenly remembered feeling pretty pissed at Jacob at the moment and proceeded to stomp back to the house.

I walked into the house and decided to sit in the living room to read for a bit, but I really struggled to concentrate. I kept picturing Leah talking to Jacob and running her hand up and down his arm, and he certainly didn't seem to mind. _Ah, come on, Jake... Why Leah? Of all people! _

I really wouldn't have minded anyone else, but why Leah? _Oh, come on, Bella, you know why! _Oh yeah, of course I knew why... Jacob, like most guys, couldn't resist her; she was totally gorgeous!

Leah really was very beautiful. Her hair was as black as Jacob's and fell just below her jaw in a modern, sleek cut. She, too, had the lovely, dark tan coloring, like many of the Quileute people on the reservation. She was about 5' 7" and had the longest legs a woman could possess, and on top of that, she had a fantastic bone structure too, with amazingly high cheekbones. Leah seemed to have everything going for her.

Sighing to myself, I stood up and wandered into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. As I put the glass under the spout, I turned the faucet on too high and water shot out really quickly. It filled the glass so fast water splashed up in all directions, and my t-shirt ended up soaked. _Shit, shit, shit! _This was doing nothing for my bad mood. I decided to pop up to my room to change into another shirt.

I took off my t-shirt and hung it over the back of my chair so it would dry off a little. As I turned to rummage in my closet for something else to put on, I caught a glimpse of myself in the full-length mirror on my closet door. As I stood looking at my reflection, my mind wandered back to Leah and her perfect body. My eyes travelled down my own body and settled on my hips.

Suddenly I pctured Leah walking across the barn, swaying her hips provocatively and looking like some statuesque Indian princess. I grimaced and turned my back to the mirror. Looking over my shoulder, I eyed my butt and wiggled it from side to side. I turned back around and stood in front of the mirror with my hands on my hips. My eyes travelled down my body again and settled on my boobs. My hands came up and cupped them over my bra. They weren't a bad size really, and definitely a handful, which was what most guys liked, right? I gave them a bit of a squeeze and pushed them together. S_hit, girl, that's not bad cleavage_, _I wonder what Jake would think of it... _"Oh my god, I didn't just think that..." I said out loud, shocked by my own thoughts.

At that moment, my phone beeped, indicating I had a message. I took it out of my pocket and checked to see who it was from.

It was Angela. "Hey baby, I'm on my way! x"

"Ok c u in a bit x"

I turned back to the mirror, took the band out of my hair, and shook it out of its messy bun. It had gotten quite long and hung down my back, just past my shoulder blades, in a mass of loose chestnut curls. I appraised myself again in the mirror and came to the conclusion that, although my skin was a pale ivory with a smattering of freckles, and I stood at only 5' 4", I definitely had a nice body. Admittedly, it was by no means as voluptuous as Leah's, but I had a nice set of curves in all the right places. _Maybe I could ask Jake what he thinks. We can talk about anything, right? _I let out a big sigh, rolled my eyes, and shook my head. God, I was losing it, big time.

I started looking through my closet and pulled out another baggy t-shirt. I looked at it and bit my lip. Maybe Angela was right. Maybe I should wear something a little more flattering sometimes. I slowly put the t-shirt back in the closet, and my hand hovered over a top I bought last summer in Port Angeles. Angela had persuaded me to be a bit more adventurous in my choice of clothing on that trip, and although I bought a few items, I hadn't yet worn them. This top in particular was of pretty bright blue cotton with spaghetti straps, and I got a very pretty pale blue bra with it, which Angela said would make my boobs look "fucking fantastic." I remembered buying the items just to shut her up, but looking at the top now, maybe it wasn't such a bad purchase.

I quickly took off the bra I was wearing and put on my new pale blue one. Then I pulled on the bright blue top, which actually did look very nice from where I was looking down at myself. I turned to look in the mirror and really liked what I saw. The top was a lot lower cut than what I was used to, but it wasn't too revealing. It hugged my curves, and my god, the bra really did make my boobs look amazing.

I grabbed my hairbrush off my bedside table, and as I stood looking at myself in the mirror, I started brushing out my curls. I suddenly heard the front door close, so I quickly tossed my brush onto my bed, flicked my hair back, and made my way downstairs. Oh, wow, maybe I had taken a little bit longer than I thought assessing the differences between Leah's body and mine if Angela had arrived already.

I wandered into the kitchen, expecting to see Angela and suddenly stopped. My stomach did a little flip. W_hat the hell was that about? _There stood Jacob with his back to me, leaning over the kitchen counter and looking through the telephone directory. _Shit, shit, and balls. _As I slowly turned to creep back out and upstairs – I wasn't ready to face him with my new and improved "knock 'em dead" boobs – Jacob turned around and looked at me.

"Oh, it's just you. I thought you were Ang. She's on her way over!" I quickly blurted out.

Jacob looked at me, and then as he spoke, his eyes wandered slowly down my body and back up again. "I... um... found out what's wrong... with the... er... tractor. It needs a new part. I was... um... just looking up the number for that place in Port Angeles. I was gonna see if they had any in stock." As he finished talking, his eyes rested for a second on my chest, and he swallowed loudly, before he returned his gaze to my face.

Suddenly feeling very self-conscious, I folded my arms across my chest and felt that familiar warmth returning to my cheeks.

"You changed your top..." Jacob nodded towards me and glanced down again.

I looked down too and was suddenly horrified to see that folding my arms across my chest just accentuated the fullness of my boobs and my cleavage was on full display. I groaned inwardly and looked up at Jacob. To my surprise, his cheeks had taken on a slight pink color, and he actually looked like he was blushing too.

"Yeah, I spilled water all over my t-shirt, so I just grabbed this out of the closet." As I said it, I uncrossed my arms and walked over to get myself a drink of water, being extra careful not to turn the faucet on full. Seeing Jacob blush boosted my confidence, and from the difficulty he was having keeping his eyes on my face, the answer to my earlier thought was that he liked them a lot.

"Did you get your hair wet too?" Jacob was now motioning to my head.

"What? Oh... no, um... I just felt like having it down... you know... I always seem to have it up, and I was thinking of maybe getting it cut," I lied. _Shit, why did I lie? Leah has short hair... Argh, stupid, Bella. Real dumb!_

"No, no... don't get it cut!" Jacob shot back, "Um... I mean... it looks nice long. I haven't seen it down for ages. It's really... um... nice." Okay, Jacob was shifting a little uneasily now and I realized that I was actually enjoying his distress, if that's what it was.

Pulling a piece of hair from behind my ear, I walked over to where Jacob was stood, next to him, and started twirling the piece of hair around my finger. "Yeah, I kind of like it too, so I decided I'll keep it long."

"Oh... good," he breathed out and swallowed again.

We stood in silence for a couple of seconds – it actually felt like ten minutes – and I could see that Jacob was having real difficulty, fighting the urge not to look down my top. If he did, he'd have had a bird's eye view since he towered over me.

I decided now was my chance to ask him about Leah, although I still wasn't really sure whether I wanted to know what was going on.

"So, you and Leah..." I just let it hang there, unsure if he would respond.

He took in a breath and hesitated before he answered, "It's nothing, Bells... just a bit of fun."

For some reason, I suddenly felt incensed "Oh, so you're fucking her... just for a bit of fun?" I turned to look at him now.

He held my gaze and pulled his lips into a thin hard line. He was getting annoyed now, but I didn't care. I decided that, what the hell, I did want to know what was going on!

He ran his hand through his hair before replying, "Bella, I'm not... we haven't... me and Leah... we haven't... you know..._" _He really was beginning to look uncomfortable and a little agitated.

"_Fucked. _But you're going to, right? Tonight?" I looked at him, raising my eyebrows and waiting for his response.

"Jeez, Bells, you really need to get a grip on that potty mouth of yours. I think Angela's vocabulary is rubbing off on you, and Charlie would have a fit if he heard you talking like that!"

"Oh, nice try at changing the subject, Jacob. I guess the angels sing every time Leah opens her mouth, huh?" I suddenly had a vision of other things Leah would be doing with her mouth later that were by no means angelic.

"_You know what, Bella? _Just drop it. Okay, what I do and who I do it with really has nothing to do with you."

"Yeah, you're absolutely right... so, fine, you go do it... go do _her_! But, god, Jake, I thought you had more sense," I said, shaking my head. "You're my friend, and I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"_Really, Bella... _is that _really_ what this is all about?"

"What? Of course! What else would it be?"

"Oh, I don't know, Bells... Why don't _you_ tell me?" He was leaning down towards me now, really close, expectantly waiting for my response. We were both breathing quite hard. I guess being mad at each other had got us pretty pumped. I could see his dark eyes almost searching for something as they stared into mine, and then his gaze fell to my lips. I took a step back, suddenly aware of his closeness. He pulled back then too, and he raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"No... you know what? Save it for another day. I've got work to do." And with that he turned around and started to walk out.

"What about the phone call?" I called after him.

"I'll do it at home later. I'm out of here." He marched off out of the kitchen. A few seconds later, I heard the front door slam behind him.

I stood staring at the kitchen door, playing over in my head what had just happened. I was still pretty mad, but there was something else niggling me. I thought about the way Jacob had leaned in to stare at me and how his eyes were darker than I have ever seen them before, the way they then shifted to look at my lips, and my own reaction of suddenly needing to step back from his intense stare.

Jacob and I had never been uncomfortable around each other before, and we had been so much closer to each other on many occasions, but somehow, this was completely different than anything we'd experienced. What was he waiting for me to say? Of course I didn't want him to get hurt, I was worried about him, I cared about him, he was my best friend, and I would have been fine with him seeing anyone other than Leah. _I'm sure I'd be fine if he was with someone else... wouldn't I?_

I was pulled from my thoughts by the sound of the front door opening. I heard Angela's voice call out for me, and I replied that I was in the kitchen.

I could hear her talking to me as she made her way down the hall to the kitchen. "Wow, I just passed Jake... what the hell did you do to him, or should I say _didn't_ you do to him? He looked pretty pissed," she finished as she came into the kitchen.

"Oh, we just had a little disagreement... nothing major." I looked over at her, and she gawped at me.

"Wow, girl! Check you out!" She motioned with her hand towards me then laughed. "No wonder Jakey boy has run off with his tail between his legs... I bet he wanted a piece of that, and you said no, right?"

"Oh for god's sake Ang... why does everything you say have to do with sex?" I rolled my eyes with a huge sigh.

"Hey, honey, when it comes to that gorgeous piece of ass I just passed out there," she pointed back over her shoulder with her thumb, "I can't think of anything else." She laughed.

"I mean, come on, B, you've got to admit he's fucking hot." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh, yeah, real hot... hot headed," I replied shaking my head.

"Anyway, if you think he's so hot, why don't you go get it on with him?"

Angela looked at me wide-eyed then turned away quickly. She seemed to avoid looking at me and answering as she headed over to the fridge to grab a soda.

"Okay, Ang, spit it out. What are you hiding?"

She turned around, leaning back against the counter.

"Don't be mad, B Okay? I kind of tried that, and... well, it didn't really work out!"

"Wh... what did you try, Ang?" I said, staring at her, and waiting for her to answer.

"Well, you know, back last year, right? When you were dating Emmett McCarty."

Emmett was on the school football team, and we'd dated briefly last year; it had only lasted about four months. Everyone was pretty shocked when we got together. After all, I was plain old Bella Swan, and Emmett was the popular, hot football player. But far from being arrogant and big-headed, he was a really nice guy and had a great sense of humor. He actually reminded me a lot of Jacob; they were about the same build and had similar personalities. I really thought he and Jacob would get along great and hoped they would become good friends. But for some reason, Jacob had taken an instant dislike to Emmett and hated me spending time with him. I just put it down to a personality clash since they were so alike. Anyway, we broke up when we figured we didn't really have that much in common. He was a huge sports fan and I wasn't. I was happy just doing simple things, but he wanted to do more exciting stuff. So we called it quits, but we still talked, if we ever saw each other out and about.

"Yeah, I remember Ang... go on..."

"Well, I came over one Saturday. I'd had a huge fight with my mom, and I needed to get out of the house. I just showed up without texting. Well... when I got here, Charlie said you'd gone out with Emmett. He could see I was upset and said I could hang around the farm if I wanted to, so I did. I took a walk down to the creek and Jake was there... I guess we were both feeling pretty neglected by you..." She gave a little chuckle, looked at me, and bit her lip.

"We got to talking, and one thing led to another... and we kind of... made out a bit."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. These were my friends. They had made out and hadn't told me. I just looked at her.

A few seconds passed before I could respond. "You kind of... made out a bit?"

"Yeah... kissing and stuff." She looked down again at the soda can in her hands.

I dropped my gaze to the can too. "And stuff... exactly what kind of stuff, Angela?"

"You know, just a bit of touching, that's all. We didn't go any further, I swear. Jake wanted to stop. He said it felt kind of wrong... you know, I guess he felt guilty doing it behind your back..."

"Oh, hooray for Jake. And what about you, Ang? Did you feel guilty? Would you have gone further if he hadn't stopped it?

I didn't know how I felt about this. Suddenly all thoughts of Leah escaped my head, and all I could see was Jacob with his hands all over Angela at the creek – mine and Jacob's place. _Fuck, I feel sick_.

"Oh, come on, B, you just said yourself I should try and get it on with him. You know I like him, always have. I thought you'd be happy for us... you know, both being your best friends and all, and it's not like you ever wanted him... you were off having fun... _and stuff... _with Emmett! Remember?"

She was now looking at me with her chin stuck out defiantly and her eyebrows raised, almost challenging me to respond to her.

"I was joking, Ang... about you getting with him," I said quietly. I was beginning to feel really drained, and this day was going from bad to worse.

"Well, we stopped. It didn't go any further... and it hasn't happened since. It was a mistake. As I said, we were both feeling a little sorry for ourselves, and I guess it was a way of comforting each other. And besides, I wasn't really feeling it with him... you know... I mean, fuck, he's an amazing kisser and all, and shit, his hands..."

"Whoa! Okay, I get it. You weren't feeling it. I don't need the details, Ang. But jeez, comforting each other... hmph... I think a hug would have done just fine... not a full fucking make out session. You should have told me!" I wailed at her.

"Yeah, I know. I'm really sorry... but seriously, it was nothing, and at least where Jacob's concerned, it was a major mistake. He begged me not to tell you. Don't tell him you know, B."

"Okay... but I'm pretty pissed that neither of you told me about this sooner. And why did he beg you not to tell me?"

"Oh, for fuck's sake, B, you can be so dumb sometimes." She sighed with an exaggerated roll of her eyes.

"I'll leave that one for you to work out for yourself. Now, if you've forgiven me," she smiled sweetly and batted her eyes at me, "tell me why you had a disagreement with Mr. Sexy Ass himself!"

"Well, I haven't forgiven you yet... but I guess I can fill you in on my shit day so far," I said, shaking my head and rolling my eyes at her.

"Come on, let's go sit in the living room, and I'll tell you all about it."


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you to the wonderful jkane180 for being my Beta... ! I really hope you all enjoy this chapter and as always I would love to hear your feedback. Ali x

All recognizable characters belong to Stephanie Meyer!

Chapter 5

"You know, Bella, maybe they're just gonna watch a movie, and you've just jumped to the wrong conclusion!" I sat back on the couch and raised my eyebrows at her in a questionable look.

"Seriously, Ang? Come on… I'd say from the way Jake completely overreacted it's a sure sign that he knew he was busted!" I folded my arms triumphantly and smiled to myself, as though I had just solved a major mystery. _He's so fucking busted, but why I am smiling? This whole thing stinks, argh!_

Angela laughed loudly at my expression as she sat shaking her head at me.

"_Jake overreacted? _Are you kidding me? Don't you think that maybe you're making a bit more out of this than there is? I mean… so what if he does fuck her? You can hardly blame him right? He's a member of the male species, a nineteen year old guy who's just been offered _it_ on a golden platter. He's hardly gonna say no… is he?

_Okay Ang has a point, but I'm not admitting to it. No way! _I thought to myself.

"He turned _you_ down_, _right?" I replied rather smugly. _Ouch, Bella, this is your friend Ang remember? Oh, yeah, my friend who made out with my other friend when my back was turned. Yep still not in a forgiving mood!_

"Well first of all, can I just say that I did not offer him _it_? We just made out, and it wasn't planned… it just kind of... happened," she held up her hand, as though pleading her case, "_and_ if it wasn't for the fact that I was _your_ friend, he would have totally fucked me. I mean, he was sooooo _up _for it, if you know what I'm saying." she wiggled her eyebrows at me to emphasize the double meaning.

I sighed and folded my arms, "Oh please Ang…..so it's my fault that you and Jake didn't go all the way?"

"Hell yeah, indirectly of course, it is! He couldn't cope with me being so close to you. Now _Leah,_ that's a whole different story,you and her don't get along particularly well right?"

It certainly wasn't a secret that Leah and I weren't that friendly.

"Mmmm, and?" I waited for her to continue.

"…. so he has no guilt there. He can do her… well… um… as often as he wants. And come on Bella, she's pretty hot. In fact, if she wasn't such a bitch, I'd even consider getting it on with her." She looked at me and shrugged her shoulders at my shocked expression.

"Okay, now I'm officially freaked out Ewww… " I covered my face with my hands in mock horror and continued, shaking my head, "…. but Jake's not like that. I mean, yeah, I know he's not a virgin, but he's not a player either… and I don't think he would… you know… _do it_ with a girl just because she was offering it."

I knew Jacob'd had girlfriends over the past few years, and his first serious one was when he was sixteen. Her name was Alicia, and they went out together for about a year. He didn't really discuss his 'love life' with me, and I didn't pry, but from little comments I'd heard between him and the guys, I figured that they'd definitely done it.

Jacob went through quite a rough time when they broke up, and one day he'd got really upset about her. We had been fishing at the creek, and Jacob was in a particularly quiet mood. I was fine with that – we often sat in silence, just enjoying each other's company.

After a while, I looked over at him, and his shoulders were slumped forward and shaking slightly. I figured that Jacob was sobbing so quietly, that I didn't hear him. I moved over towards him, put my arms around him, and just held him tight. He hugged me back, buried his head in my neck, and carried on, quietly sobbing. We stayed like that for quite a long time, just holding each other, and when he eventually pulled away, he thanked me.

Jacob then told me that Alicia had broken up with him because he was spending too much time at the farm, and with me. She had asked him to stop being friends with me, and he had refused. She then gave him an ultimatum; either choose to stay friends with me and lose her or pick her and no longer hang out with me. He decided our friendship was too important to throw away, and he told Alicia she was being unreasonable, so she ended it with him.

After that, he had a couple of girlfriends, but they didn't last very long, and he never seemed to be that serious about them.

"Well, I'm afraid to tell you, honey, but he's a _guy_… Oh yeah, I'll throw that in there because I'm not convinced you've noticed, B!"

I closed my eyes and shook my head again. _Oh, no need to worry, Ang; I've noticed._

"A guy… with needs… shit, I bet that boy has a real close bond with his right hand. Just saying, babe!" She put her hands out and shrugged her shoulders again at my wide-eyed stare.

"_Oh my god, Ang! _Do you really have to say things like that?" My stomach did a somersault. O_h my god! I bet she's right, and he touches himself. Oh shit! _I suddenly had visions of Jacob's right hand moving, stroking, slowly, then getting faster, and Jacob with his head thrown back, eyes closed, groaning with pleasure. I covered my face with my hand again as I felt heat creep into my cheeks, and I tried to ignore a funny tingling feeling which started in my stomach but was gradually creeping lower.

Angela continued, seemingly oblivious to my obvious embarrassment. "And if these, needs aren't being met, he's going to get some action from somewhere… and that's where Leah comes into the equation."

As she spoke, I shook my head defiantly, slowly recovering as I put those thoughts of Jacob touching himself to the back of my mind.

"I'm not buying it. Not all guys are like that, Ang, and certainly not Jacob."

"Well, I know you don't want to hear it, B, but guys are all the same… and Jacob is no exception."

"Did I just hear someone talking about my baby boy?" Sarah called from the hallway.

I quickly looked at Angela, and we were both wondering how much of our conversation Sarah had heard. We hadn't heard her come in the front door.

"Er… yeah, I was telling Ang how hard he works. He's almost fixed the tractor, and now he's out repairing the fence. You know Jacob, always on the go." I called back, looking at Ang for encouragement. When she gave a slight nod, I knew what I said had sounded convincing, even though she was grinning madly.

As I looked over the back of the couch, Sarah and Sue walked into the living room. Sarah made her way over to me and kissed me on the top of my head. She was really beautiful, and it was easy to see where Jacob got his good looks from. They shared the same deep brown eyes and full lips. Suddenly, thoughts of Jacob doing things with his hand returned, and I really didn't want to think about that while his mom was around. _Oh shit,_ _I'm such a perv. Stop thinking about it. _I suddenly felt that now familiar warmth returning to my face.

"Wow, sweetheart, you look gorgeous. That top looks great on you. Oh and you've caught some sun! You have a bit of color in your cheeks. You look… radiant." She smiled at me. Somehow, I didn't think it was the sun that had tinted my complexion.

"Thanks, Sarah. Hey Sue." I waved to Sue Clearwater, who stood at the doorway, smiling at us.

"Um, Dad's not home with your supplies yet," I offered to them, since I knew they'd arrived to start baking and making jelly.

"Oh, he's out front, talking to Jacob. Looks like he just got back," she said, turning to walk back out of the room.

"I guess that's my cue to get lunch ready then!" I laughed as I stood up from the couch to make my way to the kitchen.

"No, honey, you and Angela carry on talking. You do enough running around after the men…"

Angela snickered, and I shot her a glare.

"Sue and I will fix lunch." Luckily, Sarah hadn't heard Angela.

"Thanks Sarah, Ang and I'll just pop up to my room for a bit then, if that's ok?" I said as we both made our way to the stairs.

"Sure honey, I'll call you down when its ready"

The rest of the day was pretty quiet. Angela and I had our lunch around the dining table with Charlie, Sue and Sarah, who discussed preparations for the big open day, which was planned for a week from tomorrow. Jacob had popped in for his lunch but said he'd take some sandwiches with him and eat outside. I figured he was avoiding me after our little confrontation earlier.

After lunch, I spent the rest of the afternoon in my room with Angela, listening to music and using the computer.

The rest of the weekend went pretty much the same way. On Saturday, Jacob had apparently gone into Port Angeles with Quil and Embry to get the spare tractor part, and I didn't see him at all on Sunday.

Monday morning came, and I knew Jacob would be over first thing for breakfast and to discuss the days work with Charlie. I had a real unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach. I couldn't stop wondering if he'd gone to see Leah on Friday night. The more I thought about it, the more nauseous I felt. Another thought had been plaguing me too. Jacob obviously liked Leah, although I didn't think he had any deep feelings for her. He must have been attracted to Angela too, at least enough to have made out with her. Whereas Jacob had spent time with me constantly over the years, and he hadn't once attempted to come on to me. Maybe he didn't think I was attractive at all.

Come to think of it, Quil and Embry, and the other guys they hung out with at La Push, had never attempted anything either. Yeah, Quil would joke with me a little maybe. But he'd do that with anyone; so it didn't really mean a thing. It wasn't that I wanted them to try anything with me, but I guess it would be nice to get a bit of attention! _Argh, now I'm an attention whore…_

Sure, there was plenty of harmless banter that I guess some people would call flirting, but none of them ever asked me out or tried to take things further. Was there something wrong with me? Maybe they really just thought of me as one of the guys.

I showered and dressed then slowly made my way downstairs. The feeling in my stomach was getting worse, and I realized that, among other things, the thought of seeing Jacob was the main cause of my discomfort.

As I entered the kitchen, Charlie and Jacob were sitting reading the morning paper at the dining table.

"Morning, honey, coffee's on. Did you sleep okay? You look a little off color?" Charlie asked, raising his head from the paper.

I did my best to avoid looking at Jacob, who'd looked up briefly as Charlie spoke, but then returned his gaze to the paper.

"Mmmm… actually Dad, I didn't sleep well at all. I guess I have a few things going through my head at the moment," I replied as I made my way over to the kitchen cupboards.

I grabbed a box of oatmeal, poured some into a pan, and added some milk. I placed some dishes in front of Charlie and Jacob and the honey and syrup bottles in the middle of the table. As I warmed the oatmeal, Jacob got up and took the orange juice out of the fridge. I'd already gotten the glasses out, so he filled them with juice, and took them to the table.

There was a definite atmosphere in the kitchen, with me and Jacob avoiding looking at or speaking to each other. Charlie cleared his throat a couple of times, and I saw him occasionally look over his newspaper, at Jacob then at me.

When the food was ready, I walked over to the table with the pan in my hand. I spooned oatmeal into Charlie's dish. I then turned to Jacob, and with more force than was necessary, I slopped spoonfuls of the gooey mess into his dish. Some landed on the table, but I continued spooning more in. He had put the paper down and sat back in his chair, staring at the dish. As I raised my hand a fifth time to scoop up more goo from the pan, Jacob's left hand shot out, and he grabbed my wrist. I gasped at the sudden feel of his tight grip and glared at him.

"That's _enough, _Bella. Thank you," he said softly, which was a complete contradiction to how firm he was gripping my wrist. He was looking up at me now, and we stared at each other, neither of us prepared to look away first.

"Hmmm… we haven't had oatmeal for a while, honey… looks good though," Charlie said, clearing his throat again. Yeah, the oatmeal usually came out when I was pissed at something or someone, and he knew it.

Jacob quickly let go of my wrist and glanced at Charlie, who gave him a loaded look in return. Charlie thought the world of Jacob, and he knew as I did that Jacob would never hurt me. But I guess he wasn't too pleased with the way Jacob had held my wrist.

"Yeah, I didn't feel like cooking much this morning. I hope this is okay for you _both. _I know it's a bit boring, but it's _good _foryou right? And you know… too much of what you think is a good thing can be bad for you." I shot Jacob a look, and he was staring at me, his lips drawn in a straight line. I then looked to Charlie, who was just frowning in what appeared to be confusion.

"Umm, okay, honey… maybe we should cut down on the cooked breakfast then. Mmm, this is good," he said as he started to shovel spoonfuls into his mouth.

"If you don't mind, Dad, I'd like to take mine and eat it out on the porch" I picked up my dish and grabbed a cup of coffee, ignoring the orange juice that Jacob had poured for me. _Yeah, real childish, Bella!_

As I sat on the porch, I could feel my wrist still tingling from Jacob's grip. It wasn't painful, but a comfortably warm sensation.

Growing up with Jacob, we were always chasing each other and fooling around, which would usually end up with him catching me. Or occasionally, he'd give up, so I could catch him, and it would always end in us hugging or tickling each other. I was used to Jacob's touch. We even held hands sometimes, if we were exploring and we were uncertain of what we might find, or if there was a possibility that I could fall or hurt myself. I guess he was just being really protective of me, and I would obediently put my hand in his whenever he held his out for me.

But I'd noticed over the last couple of years that Jacob didn't hold my hand as much or hug and tickle me. I guess now that we were grown u, it wasn't really appropriate. _Or he just doesn't want to touch you. He thinks you're one of the guys, remember?_

I suddenly realized that I missed his touch. I missed the way he used to chase me and threaten to hug me to death, or reach for my hand just in case I got scared, and tickle me until I almost peed my pants. I started to think about him touching Angela. She hadn't gone into detail, and I didn't want her to, but I started to wonder how it would feel to have Jacob touch me that way. Of course when I dated Emmett, we touched each other quite intimately, but it was clumsy, fumbled, and hasty. We didn't really know what we were doing and, thankfully, didn't progress much further. But now I wondered what Jacob would be like.

Even when we were messing around, he was always so gentle and never hurt me. Whereas I'm sure I'd caught him awkwardly a few times, but he would laugh it off. After I apologized profusely and insisted that he hate me, he'd shake his head, hug me, and say that no matter how hard I tried, I could never hurt him or make him hate me.

Then my thoughts turned to him touching Leah in that way, and her touching him. I wouldn't imagine he'd be thinking that was inappropriate, to be hugging her, tickling her, holding her hand, and so much more. The visions returned of Jacob touching himself and gaining so much pleasure from it, but now his hand was replaced by Leah's. Suddenly, I couldn't face eating anything, put my dish down on the small table beside me, and encircled my wrist where Jacob had held it, replicating his touch with my own hand.

As I sat there looking out at the fields, my left hand still holding my right wrist, the front door opened, and Jacob came to stand beside me.

"Hey… look, I'm sorry if I hurt you. I didn't mean to grip so hard."

I looked up at him and, seeing him eyeing my wrist, realized that I was still holding it. He must have thought that he'd hurt me, when in fact, I didn't want the warmth to leave it.

"You didn't." I quickly let go as I said it. "I'm fine. Don't worry. Seriously, I'm fine." I returned my gaze to the fields as Jacob sighed.

"If you're sure…"

"Yeah, Jake, I'm sure."

Then he proceeded to walk down the porch steps.

I resisted the urge to watch him walk away around the side of the house, worried that if I did, the tears that stung my eyes would spill over and fall relentlessly.

The rest of week went by very slowly. I generally enjoyed being at home and preparing for our big open day. There was always a buzz of excitement from everyone when one was coming up. I'd also made my decision about college.

I told Charlie that I'd decided to defer college for a year, explaining to him that I'd left it too late for this year's admissions and I could enroll after Christmas for the following year. He wasn't too happy about it, but I promised I would only defer for a year and would study hard once I started. I would use my time wisely getting to know about the running of the farm.

I was also hoping to get a little job in town; I had to stop relying on Charlie's generous allowance. I could then go on to do a course in Business Management, which I thought would be useful to have either for continuing to run the farm effectively or any other career move I made.

I saw Jacob each morning and as the week continued, we started talking civilly to each other, although we weren't sharing the jokes or banter that usually occurred at breakfast. I also kept away from him when he was working. I had the feeling that something had changed between us, and I knew that it was mainly because I couldn't get past his relationship, if that's what you could call it, with Leah.

I'd seen Angela a few times in the week, when we went to see a movie and had lunch together. We also had a shopping trip to Port Angeles, where Angela persuaded me to buy a few more nice pieces of clothing, saying how everyone had thought I looked great in more flattering clothes. I figured that a new wardrobe could cheer me up, and I had to laugh when Angela said that she would treat it as my delayed initiation into womanhood and a reintroduction to my curves. I decided not to ask her if I had to do anything more for this initiation; I didn't want to give her any scary ideas.

On Thursday, after breakfast, as he was going out of the front, door after Charlie, Jacob asked if I'd be going to the bonfire on the beach Saturday night after the big open day. I told him I was going with Angela and would see him there.

I was curious to see how he reacted to me telling him Angela would be coming, but he didn't act any differently. I don't know what I expected really. I mean, he'd kept their little tryst a secret from me for a year, and he'd seen her plenty of times since then without acting any differently. But now that I knew what they'd done, I wondered if I would notice anything out of the ordinary, that I would have missed before, because I wasn't looking for it. But there was nothing there that I could identify as proof that he liked her or wanted her.

Thursday night, I went up to bed as normal. I hadn't received any goodnight texts from Jacob this week. He didn't text me every night, but I guess being conscious of the strain on our friendship made me notice the absence of his little messages more.

I had a restless night tossing and turning and woke up really upset from a dream that felt so real and confusing.

We were children, about nine or ten, and I had sprayed Jacob with the hose. Knowing that he would try to get me back, I took off running through the cornfield, as fast as my legs would carry me. I could hear him behind me laughing and shouting that he was so going to get me. Each time I heard him, he sounded so close, but when I glanced back, he was so far away. Then suddenly, everything went quiet, and I couldn't hear or see him. I stopped running, wondering where Jacob was, and instead of being scared that he would jump out on me, I was actually petrified that he'd gotten fed up and left me. Then I turned around, and he was there with his goofy grin and said smugly, "Gotcha."

Jacob grabbed me, and we both fell to the ground, where he proceeded to tickle me over and over. Then I was trying to grip his wrists, but I couldn't get a hold on them. Suddenly, he had a hold on my wrists and had them pinned on the ground above my head, and he was leaning across me.

When I looked up at Jacob, he'd suddenly changed from a little boy to how he was now – grown up – and I gasped as he came close to my face. We were both breathing so fast and I realized that I had changed too. I was no longer a little girl, but I was also grown up now.

I spoke quietly in between panting breaths, "Jake, you got me. You can let me go now," and I wriggled underneath him, laughing nervously as he continued to look at me with dark searching eyes.

His grip tightened slightly as he leaned nearer then bent down to whisper in my ear, "I'm never letting you go Bella… ever." As he spoke, I could feel his lips brushing the top of my ear, and his hair tickled my cheek. I could feel the warmth of his skin radiating from him, and I could smell his masculine, woodsy scent. I was engulfed in all that was Jacob and suddenly realized that I didn't want him to let me go ever.

I turned my face towards his, and our lips were almost touching with the tiniest space keeping them apart. He let go of one hand to run his fingers through my hair, and before I knew what was happening, my free hand was in his hair, pulling his lips to mine. I could feel them soft yet firm against my own, moving together in harmony. I pulled him into me more, wanting to feel his body on mine, wanting to be a part of him.

But then he suddenly pulled away from me. My eyes searched his for an answer.

"Bella… you'll always be my friend, I'll never let you go, but that's all we are: _friends." _He shook his head. "I'm sorry." He got up from where we were.

I sat up and watched as Leah came out of the corn, tall and glamorous, and snaking her arms around Jacob's waist, she shook her head at me in sympathy.

I heard someone sobbing and realized it was me as I whispered in a choked voice, "But, Jacob, you said we would get married… you didn't want to meet other girls, remember?"

Jacob looked at me with sad eyes. "Bella we were kids… it didn't mean anything!" And with that he walked off with Leah and disappeared into the corn, leaving me crying on the ground.

I woke with a start to the sound of my own sobs and my face wet with tears.


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you to the wonderful jkane180 for being my Beta...! As always I really hope you enjoy this and I appreciate all your reviews and feedback. Ali x

All recognizable characters belong to Stephanie Meyer!

Chapter 6

I furiously wiped at my face, trying to remove the tears, the evidence of my nightmare. But just wiping the tears away couldn't erase the sickness in my stomach or the ache in my chest. I gulped for air as another sob escaped from my throat. I sat up and looked around my room. It was light, and the clock read 5:00am; nothing had changed. I sighed and shook my head, suddenly overcome with a sense of relief and realization that it was just a dream, and although it felt so real, it wasn't. I was in my bed in my own room, not on the hard ground in the cornfield where Jacob had left me. I lay back down and closed my eyes, willing myself to drift back off, but my mind was too alert and being invaded by visions of Leah and Jacob walking off together through the corn. So I decided to get up and busy myself to get the horrible feeling the dream had left me with out of my system.

After quickly and quietly washing and brushing my teeth, I made my way downstairs and into the kitchen. I knew today would be really busy since tomorrow was our big open day event of the season. The cooking and food preparation, as far as I knew, had all been done by Sarah and Sue and some of the other local women. They probably had some more things to do, but I didn't think any of it was planned at our house today. I knew that Dad, Jake, and the guys would be getting the stall tables ready and set up. I thought Embry, Quil, and some of the other guys from La Push would be popping over to help out.

I started pottering around, just generally tidying up. The place wasn't a mess, I usually kept on top of the housework, and as only myself, and Charlie lived here, it never really got very untidy. I grabbed the duster and polish from the cupboard under the basin and made my way through to the living room. I began dusting and polishing, and my thoughts wandered back to Jacob. The dream had made me realize that I really couldn't bear to not have him as my friend. I hated not joking and laughing with him and couldn't imagine what it would be like to not have Jacob in my life.

Jacob was a constant for me, always there. I might not have seen him every day, but I knew I could call him, or text him and he'd always make time for me, and vice versa. I guessed we both backed off a little when each of us was dating, but we still knew we would be there for each other.

But this past week had been completely different, and I had really pissed him off. For the first time in _forever,_ I didn't feel that I could text or call him, and I wondered if he felt that way too. I didn't want it to be like that with me and Jacob, and I needed to get us back to where we were. I couldn't let this go on any longer. Maybe Angela was right; maybe I had blown it out of proportion. What was it to me if he a Leah were 'together'? I didn't have to like it, but I still needed to be there for him as his friend. After all, our friendship was too important to just throw away because I didn't like his current girlfriend... _or the fact that he has a girlfriend regardless of who it is! _

My thoughts went back to my dream and how it felt so real when he was chasing me through the cornfield. We had done it so many times before when we were kids, where w'd chase each other and end up on the ground, rolling around with laughter. I couldn't help smiling to myself at the memories. Then I thought about the kiss in my dream. I could feel his lips on mine and smell him all around me, feel his hair against my face. As I thought about it, I became aware of a tingling sensation in the pit of my stomach that was rapidly moving lower. I remembered, I didn't want the kiss to end, and it was me who had pulled Jacob in for the kiss in the first place. I could feel myself blushing at the thought and automatically rubbed my thumb along my bottom lip. What would it really be like to kiss Jacob? I'd kissed boys before, obviously, and I'd done a few more things with Emmett, so I wasn't completely clueless when it came to boys. But the thought of kissing Jacob passionately, even touching him intimately... oh my... him touching me... oh god... my mind was definitely going _there!_

Then it hit me like a bolt of electricity, and I was shocked. _Shit, I want to kiss him, I want to touch him, I want him to touch me... Fuck, I want him... and... I don't want Leah or anyone else to have him! _

"Oh my god, Bella... you idiot!" I said to myself, shaking my head as I sank down on the couch.

"When exactly did this happen? How? He's my friend." I put the duster and polish down on the coffee table and let my head fall into my hands._.. Yeah, your friend who happens to be exceptionally hot, makes you feel whole, and knows you better than anyone else!_

"Oh god," I groaned aloud. How on earth was I going to face him today... this morning? I would have to carry on as normal. I couldn't let him know how I felt. S_hit... how do I feel? _And I needed to get past this for our friendship's sake.

I decided that I would apologize to him today. I didn't want things to be awkward at the open day or the bonfire, and the sooner Jacob and I were back to our normal selves, the better.

As I picked up the cleaning things and made my way back to the kitchen, I could hear Charlie moving around upstairs. After checking the clock and seeing it was almost 7:00, I decided to start getting the breakfast things ready. I had shopped earlier in the week with Angela and stocked up on food, so I pulled out the bacon, eggs, and sausages and started mixing the batter for pancakes. After a week of oatmeal, toast, and cereal, I figured Charlie and Jacob would appreciate a fully cooked breakfast this morning. Plus I was hoping it would go a little way towards apologizing to Jacob.

Charlie made his way downstairs and into the kitchen and kissed me on the forehead as I put the coffee on.

"Good morning, my beautiful daughter."

I laughed and wished him a good morning too. I could tell the smell of cooked breakfast had put him in a good mood.

"I'm just gonna take a stroll down to the mailbox for the paper, honey. Be back in a few."

"Oh, sorry, Dad, I could have got the papers for you. I didn't think." I smiled at him apologetically.

"Hey, don't worry, honey. You know I like my little walk in the mornings," he said as he walked out of the kitchen towards the front door. I laughed quietly to myself. The mailbox was at the end of the long drive but only took a few minutes there and back, and that was Charlie's morning stroll.

I was still smiling to myself when I heard the front door open and Jacob call out, "It's only me."

I felt my heart skip a beat and groaned inwardly. I needed to do this: act normal, apologize move on.

"Hey, hey... Mmmmm, I smell bacon." Jacob walked over to me, sniffing loudly and grinning from ear to ear.

As he leaned back against the counter top, I couldn't help taking in his appearance. He really was very attractive, and I noticed he hadn't shaved this morning, so the beginning of a dark scruff was evident on his jaw, chin, and just above his top lip. _Oh, god_, _how, Bella? How the fuck did you not notice this before?_ I silently chastised myself as he folded his arms across his chest. He was wearing his usual old faded jeans and grey t-shirt, and where his arms were crossed, I could take in his bulging biceps and the prominent veins running down his arms. _Oh fuck...he's a man. When did my Jacob become a man? Oh, oh, hold up..._your_ Jacob? Oh god, I'm gonna die!_

I turned back to the stove and quickly sneaked a peek back at Jacob to see him looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Sooooo... does this mean I'm forgiven?" He gestured towards the bacon.

"Well, actually, Jake... I was kinda hoping that... um... I'd be the one being forgiven." I pressed on before he could say anything. "I'm so sorry, Jake, really, I am. I acted like a complete idiot this week, and... you know... what you do..."

What I wanted to say kind of stuck in my throat there for a few seconds, and I was struggling to say it, but I needed to do this!

"You know, with... Leah... or anyone else... is none of my business... and I won't interfere or get mad at you again. I promise."

_Phew, I did it!_ I inwardly congratulated myself and looked back at Jacob, who was grinning impossibly wider.

"So does this mean we're friends again?" He leaned forward now, teasingly. _Keep calm, Bella. Act normal. You can do this._

"Of course... we were never not friends." I turned to face him fully.

"So does this mean I can have a piece of bacon?" He wiggled his eyebrows at me.

I felt myself blushing and my heart rate rapidly increasing as I leaned in towards him and seductively replied, "Oh, you can have two. I think I owe you!"

I picked up a piece of bacon and lifted it to his mouth, realizing too late just how intimate this little action could look. But Jacob just laughed as he eagerly opened his mouth for me to pop it in, closed his eyes, and then groaned his usual 'this is soooo god damn delicious' groan.

I pulled back slightly and just watched his face, looking at his lips. They were so full and beautiful, almost too beautiful for a guy. Because of his wonderful, coloring they weren't pink or red; they were almost a dark mauve color, and they looked so soft, not dry or chapped, but soft and moist... _so fucking kissable... _As I watched, Jacob's tongue emerged slowly to lick his lips; I was transfixed.

"You okay, Bells?"

Jacob's words pulled me from my daze. I reluctantly tore my eyes away from his lips to look at him fully.

"Er, yeah... um... I just kind of missed you... you know, this week. Lame, huh?"

"Awww, come here, honey..." And before I knew it, Jacob had bent down, put his arms around me, and lifted me up into a huge hug.

I instinctively put my arms around his neck, and taking full advantage of the opportunity, buried my head into his shoulder. _Oh yeah... smells so good... feels amazing_. I could feel Jacob chuckling into my neck, and I didn't want him to put me down.

"Ehem... glad to see you two have finally made up."

Jacob quickly released me as we turned to see Charlie walk into the kitchen. Jacob and I both stood grinning at Charlie as Jacob spoke.

"Yep, we're best of friends again, boss." And in a whisper aimed at Charlie, he added, "So no more oatmeal!"

Charlie huffed and sat down at the table as I giggled and swatted Jacob's arm while he started to get the glasses from the cupboard for some juice.

While we ate breakfast, Charlie and Jacob discussed work, as usual. I offered to help out here and there, but Charlie said that most of the work was done, and he and the guys would take care of anything else that needed doing today. Although, he did ask if I would help Sarah on the food stall tomorrow, weighing the fruit and vegetables. Of course I didn't mind that at all; I helped out each year with the food stall.

I couldn't help noticing how things had fallen back into the old routine. Thank goodness things were back to normal. Apart from the fact that I was hyper aware of every move Jacob made, every word he said, how his hands gripped his cutlery, and what it would be like having his hands gripping my waist, my hips, my..._Oh my god... who am I kidding? Things are by no means back to normal. Shit, they never will be now!_


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you to the wonderful jkane180 for being my Beta...! I hope you all enjoy this chapter, thanks so much for all your reviews and feedback. Ali x

All recognizable characters belong to Stephanie Meyer!

Chapter 7

"Hey, Ang, I really need to talk to you, like now!" I came up to my room after breakfast, and had just gotten out of the shower. Wrapped in only a towel, I was frantically pulling out underwear and clothing from my drawers while balancing the phone between my ear and shoulder.

"Well, talk to me, B. What's up?"

"No, face to face, Ang. Oh my god..."

"Whoa, okay, I'll come straight over."

"No, no, I'll come to you. It's really busy round here today, and... er... I don't want us to be disturbed."

"Oookaay... Um... are you all right, B? Cause this sounds kind of serious."

"Oh, shit... I'm... oh my god... look, I'm on my way. We'll talk then." I hung up.

I quickly got dressed, ran a comb through my wet hair, and made my way downstairs. As I came out of the front door, I saw Charlie was standing talking to Edward and Jasper. I guessed they were discussing the arrangements for the horse display and riding that would take place tomorrow. They turned to look at me as I came down the porch steps and both Edward and Jasper nodded a greeting to me.

"Hey, Dad, do you mind if I pop over to Angela's for a couple of hours?"

"Of course not, honey. Just take it easy, and I'll see you later."

I kissed Charlie on the cheek, gave a little wave to Jasper and Edward, then got into my truck, started her up and made my way into town, to Angela's place.

I parked on Angela's driveway and as I reached the front door, Angela pulled it wide open, grabbed my hand, and dragged me in and up the stairs.

"Oh my god, Ang, slow down," I screeched as she pushed me through her bedroom door.

"Right, tell me what's going on. What's wrong? Shit, B, I've been going out of mind with worry."

"I like Jacob." I blurted it out as I turned to sit on the edge of her bed.

"You... like... Jacob?" She repeated it slowly back to me, frowning. "Is that what this is about?" She gestured between us and around the room. "Oh my god, B, shit girl, I thought something was wrong... like seriously wrong." She sat down next to me on the bed, shaking her head.

"Well, this is kind of serious, Ang. Oh my god, I don't know what to do." I rested my elbows on my knees and put my head in my hands.

"Okay, so let me get this right. You, Bella Swan, have _finally _realized that you like, Jacob Black?"

My head snapped up, and I glared at her.

"Don't make fun, Ang. This is so not funny!"

"Well, B, really it kind of is, but hey, hallelujah for finally being on the same page as _everyone else." _She looked at me sympathetically.

"What are you saying, Ang?" I sat up straight now, looking at her and waiting for her response.

"Just that we, as in, most likely everyone we know, all kind of came to the same realization as you eons ago!"

"Oh my god, Ang..." I whined, "How could they know? I didn't even know... Oh, shit, do you think Jake knows? Oh shit and balls." I threw my hands up to cover my face as Angela sighed and put her arm around my shoulders.

"Look, B, I think Jake is just as far behind everyone else as you were. I'm pretty sure both of you have been on some kind of denial trip. So even if he does have an inkling that you feel something for him, my guess is he'll put it down to the '_but we're just friends'_ crap and continue on his little way."

"Oh, god," I groaned "He can't know, Ang. Shit no way. It would ruin our friendship... and... ohhhh…" I groaned again, shaking my head in my hands. "He's with her, Leah... Do you think she knows? Oh, fuck, Ang, she does, doesn't she? Holy shit, just kill me now!"

"Look, stop being such a fucking drama queen. _I'm_ not gonna tell him, and I doubt anyone else would. As for Leah... _first of all_... you don't know for sure that they're together, right?"

I slowly looked up and nodded my head.

"I guess... yeah, I mean... he hasn't mentioned her, and I haven't seen them together. Well, since that time in the barn... but then this week I've hardly spoken to him or seen him, so what do I know?" I was whining again as Angela shook her head and continued.

"Well, we haven't had confirmation from him or her, right? And, let's face it, if they were together, she'd definitely want people to know about it, yes?"

Okay, Angela had a point. Leah would have said something to someone surely? She'd want everyone to know that she had snared Jacob Black... _Oh, yeah, he's a real catch around these parts... _and... not one person had said anything to me. Not even a slip up or jokey comment from Quil or Embry. I started to feel a tiny bit better... just a tiny bit.

"Secondly, I doubt Leah knows that you like him. Yeah, she may suspect, but, let's honestly, B, she's so self absorbed that I really doubt she'd pay _you_ much attention." She shrugged her shoulders. "So forget about Leah for now. I want to know how you came to this awakening!"

I proceeded to tell Angela about my dream, and the little thoughts I'd been having about Jacob lately, sparing any embarrassing details. She sat listening in silence with a small smile on her face until I finished.

"Soooo, B... you're horny for Jake. You _want _him. Oooh, damn, girl, about time!" She clapped her hands together and laughed out loud.

"You make it sound so... dirty, Ang. I like him. That's it. I'm not about to jump his bones..." I smiled then and quickly added," At least not yet!" I looked at her, and we were both laughing now.

"Hell yeah! That's my girl!" She exclaimed as she threw her arms around me.

"Oh god, Ang, he's soooo hot. How did I not see this before? Why didn't you tell me?" I looked at her accusingly.

"Ummm, excuse me, but I think I brought your attention to Mr. Sexy Ass's rocking looks and body quite a few times. You just gave me the 'it's not like that with me and Jake' line." She rolled her eyes and put on a silly girly voice, using her fingers to make air quotations.

"Okay, yeah... I guess you did, and I was too dumb to see it... But what now? I mean, I don't think he likes me like that, regardless of whether he's with Leah or not. I think he either just sees me as one of the guys or clumsy little Bella..." I looked down at my jean-clad legs solemnly.

"Oh, come on, I'm _pretty_ sure Jake does like you. I just think he's as dumb as you've been about admitting it to himself. Look, B, you remember your little initiation into womanhood and the reintroduction to your curves? Well, this is where it really begins, and Mr. Sexy Ass is not gonna know what hit him."

"Oh, Ang, I'm not sure... I mean, this is me... I don't want to change who I am... and Jake knows me like this... " I indicated with my hand up and down my body.

"Look, I'm not talking about changing who you are, babe. Hell, I love you as you are. Shit, we all do, and we wouldn't want you to change. What I _am _talking about is just making the most of what you've got, B. I'm being serious now; you're fucking gorgeous, and you don't even know it. You dress fine for being on the farm and all... but think how hot you looked in that top you wore."

She was looking at me earnestly, trying to read my reaction while I just looked at her as she carried on.

"You said even Jake noticed it, right? And you liked it. You thought you looked good in it. Babe, it's not about changing you – your personality – it's just about making _some_ peoplesee that you've grown up into a beautiful _woman_ inside and out and you're not the cutesy, clumsy little farm girl Bella Swan anymore."

Angela and I spent the next couple of hours just generally talking and listening to some music. I told her about how I'd apologized to Jacob and how he'd hugged me. I may have mentioned how good he'd smelled and felt, how I'd noticed the muscles when he folded his arms, and how full his lips are, telling her how I'd noticed the lower one being slightly fuller than the top one... _just waiting to be bitten!... _I may also have told her, how he hadn't shaved this morning, so he was looking all rugged and sexy. Yeah, it was hopeless. Now that I'd admitted to myself and Angela that I liked him, I just couldn't get him out of my head. I was sure I'd bored Angela so badly, but she seemed to revel in my confession and certainly didn't indicate that she was bored stiff.

When it was time to go, I asked Angela if she was definitely coming to the open day and then later to the bonfire, expressing that I desperately needed moral support. She laughed at me and told me I was crazy to think that she wouldn't be at both. She said she'd help me out on the food stall, and she'd be over early so she could stash her make-over things in my room. When she saw the sudden fright on my face, she laughed and reassured me that she would only put the minimum of make up on 'to enhance my natural beauty' and would do something gorgeous with my hair. I quickly jumped in and told her that Jacob had said he liked my hair down. Angela just looked at me and laughed before saying, "God, B, you have got it so fucking bad. We're gonna make him yours. Don't worry, babe!"

As I drove back home from Angela's, I really did feel so much better, although I was pretty anxious about what Angela had planned for me tomorrow night. As I drove along the main La Push road, I kept thinking about Jacob and when we were kids and the complete innocence of our friendship compared to how I felt about him now. Which, with the thoughts that had recently been invading my head, were as far away from being innocent as you could possibly get.

I really wanted to know how he felt about me. He must have thought about us when we were kids and how we are now. I wondered if he just thought about me as good little clumsy Bells, so sweet, so innocent, always up for a laugh, a joke, a bit of banter with the guys or whether he had the same kind of thoughts that I'd been having. Oh my... what if he had been having those thoughts?

"Arrggghh," I groaned out loud as I pulled into the long drive leading up to the farm house.

As I parked my truck and made my way over to the porch, Jacob came walking around the side of the house from the direction of the big barn. As soon as we saw each other, we both beamed, and I could feel that now familiar heat rising to my face. _Oh god, he looks so good. Calm down, Bella, for god's sake!_

"Hi, Jake, have you had lunch yet? I can fix you something... tasty..." _Oh, shit, girl, what are you talking about?_

I looked at him, knowing full well that he hadn't eaten. He looked kind of sweaty, and he'd obviously been working hard, getting things ready for tomorrow's big day.

I couldn't take my eyes off him and looked him over completely. I started with his short hair that stuck out in all directions, down his torso, where the t-shirt he was wearing clung to his sweaty body, outlining the prominent ridges of his pecs and hard abs. My gaze then dropped to his waist... oh boy... his jeans hung so low, and my eyes lingered on his belt buckle. I felt my face flush crimson as I spotted the bulge at his crotch... O_h fuck, I'm so dead! _I thought to myself as my eyes rested on his muscular, jean clad thighs..._ok Bella enough...stop eye fucking him!_

"Ummm... no, not yet. Something tasty, eh? Depends what you're offering me, Bells." He smiled and winked at me. _Yep so fucking dead!_

I needed to get a grip. This was banter, that was all, just playful, harmless, innocent banter. This is what we did, me and Jacob, and he was playing along, winking and all that shit. Yeah, this is us back to normal, right? _Yeah, Bella, you keep telling yourself that!_

"Why don't you follow me into the house, Mr. Black, and I'll show you what I've got to offer?"

Jacob laughed out loud as I winked back at him. We both walked up the porch steps into the house and then into the kitchen.

I pulled open the fridge and waved at the contents. "It's your lucky day. I have ham, cheese, pepperoni, salt beef, cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles and... um..." I started rummaging around a bit while Jacob stood with his arms folded, watching me intently. I began to feel a little nervous under his scrutiny and giggled as I pulled a couple of jars from the fridge.

"Ahh... PB and J." I held them up triumphantly as Jacob started walking slowly over towards me, smirking with a predatory look in his eyes. _Oh, hell, here he goes again!_

I backed myself against the fridge, closing it with my butt as Jacob came to stand in front of me... _whoa_... _really close! _

"Hey, honey, you know I can't resist it... when you offer me..." he moved in closer, wiggling his eyebrows, then bent down and drawled against my ear, "PB and J"

_This is just banter. He's playing along, completely innocent. Just Bells and Jake messing around, right?_

Then before I could respond, he took the jars from my hands and turned towards the counter, reaching for the bread. I stood a few seconds longer, watching him laughing and shaking his head.

"You're so funny, Bells I'm really glad you're talking to me again, honey!"

"Yeah me too, Jake," I replied as I opened the fridge to take out the butter, feeling a little disappointed that the moment was over.

"So how many of these things do I have to make?" I asked, knowing that Jacob wouldn't be the only guy around here expecting lunch, and if any of the other guys from La Push _were_ here, they would eat tons.

He laughed again as he said, "A few... quite a few. Embry, Quil, Seth, Jared, and Paul... my dad, your dad, Jaz has got his own lunch, as usual, and that Edward guy's here, but I don't know if PB and J is his style."

I looked at him and raised a questioning eyebrow.

Jake shrugged and added "Well, you know, he could have a nut allergy or something... looks a little delicate if you ask me..."

I continued to look at Jacob, eyebrow still raised.

"I don't know, Bells... just doesn't seem a PB and J kind of guy..." he continued, almost apologetically.

"Oh... well... how about I do a selection of sandwiches then? And hopefully that will keep you all satisfied." I laughed as I returned to the fridge to get out some cold meats and salad things.

"Hey, honey, just remember... it doesn't take a lot to keep me satisfied." He was looking at me again with a raised eyebrow and that sexy grin of his while tapping the PB and J jars with his fingers.

"Okay, okay, yes, I know what you want, so just get out of my kitchen now, will you?"

And we both laughed as Jacob put his hands up in defense and said, "All right, Bells, I'm going, I'm going."

I did a whole selection of sandwiches for the guys and took a couple for myself. I put them out on the porch table along with some sodas and called out to Jake to round up the others for lunch. Suddenly, all the guys came out from where-ever they'd been working. I kind of felt a little overwhelmed by the amount of testosterone around me. If Angela was here, she'd insist she could smell it in the air. Thinking of Angela made me realize I really should have invited her back. She would have thoroughly enjoyed being surrounded by so many gorgeous guys.

I decided I'd eat my lunch inside the house away from the guys today. I was used to having them around since they normally did a few jobs around the farm when it was our busiest season. But knowing how my mind was malfunctioning lately and my proneness to blushing, I didn't want to risk being around these jokers, especially with Charlie around too.

As I turned around to walk back into the house, Paul came to stand in front of me, discreetly blocking my way.

"So, you coming to the beach tomorrow night, Baby Bell? For the bonfire." Paul asked me quietly as he looked over my shoulder to where the others were talking and eating.

"Er... yeah, of course, Paul. Don't I always come to the bonfires?" I replied, smiling at him as I tried to maneuvre around him.

"Good. Don't forget to bring your bikini." He winked at me as he moved to let me pass.

I just shook my head and rolled my eyes at him as I made my way into the house.

Paul Lahote was the local ladies man – incredibly good-looking, cocky, and a little arrogant – your typical bad boy, and the women flocked to him. He always had a girl on his arm, hanging on to his every word. He was twenty one and worked at his dad's garage in La Push. As with most of the Quileute guys, he was tall, muscular, and gorgeous. Sometimes, if he didn't have much work on at the garage, he helped out on the farm, and Jacob sometimes helped out at the garage in our low season.

I knew Paul pretty well, and where Embry, Quil and the other guys would joke and flirt with me in front of everyone, Paul tended to do it quietly, when other people weren't paying attention. I was sure he was just trying to embarrass me, like when he started calling me Baby Bell. It really annoyed me at first, and he used to find it really funny when I got pissed at him. So I decided to ignore it, but unfortunately, the name kind of stuck. I soon found that not paying Paul any attention when he was in one of his annoying moods worked best. But that meant that usually when Paul was around, I spent most of the time ignoring him. No matter how charming and smooth he tried to be, I knew what he was like, and I wasn't falling for it.

As I walked through the hall, I heard Jacob's voice behind me.

"Hey, what was that about?"

"Nothing, bro... just having a joke with Baby Bell..."

_Yeah, Paul, real funny! _I thought.


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you to the wonderful jkane180 for being my Beta...! I hope you all enjoy this and thank you so much for the wonderful reviews. Ali x

All recognizable characters belong to Stephanie Meyer!

Chapter 8

Swan Farm was a hive of activity for the rest of the day with people constantly coming and going. Most of them visited to discuss final set up details with Charlie and to drop their stock off, which Charlie locked away securely in one of the out buildings we used for storage. The guys were working hard, generally getting everything ready for tomorrow. I couldn't help but smile to myself as I occasionally heard the odd curse word coming from different directions. I guessed being around guys most of my time resulted in me building up some immunity to bad language; it had rubbed off on me too. I certainly wouldn't dream of cursing in front of Charlie, and I couldn't say that I'd ever really heard my dad use any bad language before. Certainly not when he was in my company anyhow, and the same could be said for Jacob. Sure, I'd heard Jacob cursing around the guys occasionally, but he didn't really have what you could call a potty mouth. I, on the other hand, also had Angela, whom some would think of as a bad influence, and she could really turn the air blue using just a couple of words. _Maybe I should rein in my cursing?_ I wondered to myself as I made my way around to the big barn.

There, I found Charlie and Billy laughing about some old joke they'd shared. I suddenly realized that I hadn't really seen Billy much lately, and a little pang of guilt hit me. I was usually a regular visitor to the Blacks' place in the evenings and on the weekends. I saw him and Sarah at least three times a week normally, but following my little fall out with Jacob, I'd avoided La Push completely over the past week, which inadvertently meant I'd avoided Billy and Sarah too.

"Hey, Bella! I've missed you, stranger. How's my favorite girl?" Billy smiled warmly and held his arms out to me. I bent down and threw my arms around his neck in a friendly embrace, kissing his cheek.

He always did refer to me as his favorite girl, at least as long as Rachel and Rebecca weren't around. Of course I knew that he loved his daughters dearly, and his reference to me was just his way of showing how fond he was of me. Billy and Sarah had always treated me as though I was a member of their own family.

"Billy, it's not been that long... I saw you at lunch!" I giggled as I stepped back and straightened up.

"Nope, didn't see you at lunch, honey. You hightailed it into the house before I made it up the ramp." He looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

He was right, of course. Thinking about it now, I hadn't seen him. I was so eager to get away from the guys I'd missed him completely. When Billy first got his wheelchair, Charlie and Jacob built a ramp to the side of the house, leading up to the porch. Charlie and Billy had both said that there was no way a wheelchair was getting in the way of their game nights, and sure enough, it hadn't.

The pang of guilt I originally felt rapidly increased. I hadn't purposefully avoided Billy or Sarah this week. I had just, kind of kept myself to myself and, in doing so, hadn't really seen either of them.

"Oh, sorry, Billy. I wanted to get back inside to finish off some... things," I flustered.

"Hey, no worries, Bella." He waved his hand, dismissing my awkwardness. "So how have you been?"

"I'm good, thanks. I'm sorry I haven't been over lately... um..." I stumbled over my words a little and looked at him sheepishly. Charlie knew that Jacob and I had fallen out, and I was sure he had filled Billy in on everything he knew, from the frosty atmosphere every morning to silence that descended whenever we'd been around each other.

"Ah, seriously, honey, don't worry about it. I don't blame you! That son of mine spent the week moping around the place with a face like a slapped mule. Hell, I'd have kept away if I could," Billy chuckled.

"I was even thinking of sending him over to move into one of your barns... Thankfully, he seems okay now." Billy smiled knowingly and winked at me.

Charlie cleared his throat. "Yep, not sure that would have been such a good idea, Billy. We might have had a murder on the farm by now!"

_Yeah, very funny Dad!_

"Um, _Dad…_" I interrupted and glared at him, "do you need me to do anything, or shall I just start dinner?"

"Ah... well, I think we're more or less done now. You could start dinner then I think an early night is in order. We've got an early start tomorrow and a busy day ahead of us!"

"Sure thing. See you tomorrow, Billy," I said as I turned to leave and head back to the house.

"Yep, see ya', Bella."

I made my way back across the yard, and as I started up the porch steps, I heard Jacob call me from across the driveway.

"Hey, Bells, hold up."

I turned to see him jogging over to me grinning from ear to ear.

"Yeah, Jake, what's up?" I stood on the top step now as he came up the other steps towards me.

He stopped on the step below mine, and I looked up at him and watched, smiling, as he ran a hand through his messy hair. He looked so sexy and hot.

"Nothing's up, Bells. I just... um... I'm gonna head home now, and I don't think we'll get much of a chance to speak tomorrow. You know, we'll both be kind of busy."

I nodded in agreement and waited for him to continue.

He placed a hand on the railings and dropped his gaze to his feet. When he lifted his eyes back up to my face, he was biting his bottom lip. I could almost hear his brain ticking over and wondered what it was he wanted to talk about.

"Okay, well, what did you want to talk about?" I prompted, watching his face intently and trying to read his expression, which I couldn't.

"Well, I guess we'll all be meeting for the bonfire around seven... by the time we've finished up here and all..." He was looking down again now and quickly shoved his left hand in his jeans pocket.

"And... well... I'm not sure it'll be warm enough to... um… swim..." He was looking at me again now, still chewing on his bottom lip.

"You might want to... you know... wear something to keep you warm. Uh... I mean, you wouldn't want to get sick or something, right?"

"Um... Oookaaay..." I said slowly, frowning a little in confusion. "Jake, I... um... I wasn't planning on actually swimming, you know." I giggled a little and carried on, "But it's summer, and I'll probably just wear what I usually do and bring a cardigan or something. You know, in case it gets a little chilly later on." I tried to sound as casual as I possibly could, but was becoming increasingly aware of how close Jacob and I were standing together. I was also finding it harder and harder not to just reach out and touch him – just his arm, or his hair.

"Cool. That's great. I just... I don't know... just, um... don't want you to get sick." He was shifting his feet now and began to turn to leave.

"Right. Well, I'm sure I'll be fine, Jake." I laughed. "But thanks for your concern. It's nice to know you care." I added cheekily.

Jacob quickly turned back to me with his brow furrowed and a serious look on his face.

"Bells, of course I care!" he stated firmly.

"Yeah, I know, Jake. I was joking, " I offered, and his expression softened a little.

"Oh, right... of course you were! Well, I'll see you around tomorrow then. Bye, Bells." And with that, he jogged down the steps and back across the drive, where Embry and Quil had started walking over to join him.

"See ya' tomorrow, Bella," they called out cheerily as I waved to them and headed into the house.

I was still a little confused by the way Jacob had just acted and by what he'd said. I'd been to the beach many times in the past, and we'd also been swimming in the creek when we'd been lucky enough to have some pretty sunny days. Why was he so concerned about me getting cold or sick? The weather had been warm lately, so that couldn't have been the reason.

I laughed to myself as I walked into the kitchen and said to the empty room, "What does he think I'm gonna wear? A bikini?" Then the realization dawned on me. _Oh my god, that was it!_

He must have heard what Paul said to me about bringing a bikini, but why would Jacob not want me to wear one? Not that I necessarily _would wear one – _it hadn't even crossed my mind, and Paul was just trying to embarrass me, as usual. So what was Jacob so worried about?

As I prepared dinner, things kept turning over in my head: my confession to Angela earlier; thoughts of Leah and Jacob together as a couple: and just Jacob, how he had looked today and how we'd messed about at lunchtime. I knew I'd gotten close to crossing the line today, and rather than just messing with him, I guess I really was flirting. I wondered if he would see it like that or as just our usual playfulness.

But by the time I climbed into bed that night, I was still no nearer understanding why Jacob was so worried about what I'd be wearing at the bonfire. With all the thoughts of him running through my head, I fell asleep surprisingly with no trouble at all.

I woke at 5:00am the next morning after a good night's sleep. Charlie and I had a simple breakfast since people had already started arriving to set up their stalls and get ready for the big day. I would be helping Sarah out in the small barn on the fruit and veggie stall. Most of the stalls would be set up in the small barn today since we had various things happening in the big barn. A local band, friends of Jasper's, would be playing on and off throughout the day, and Jasper would be joining them for a few numbers when he had a break from the horse displays. We also had some tables and chairs set up for people to sit and have something to eat and drink. Sue and Sarah had made some food, but a lot of people would bring their own picnics along too.

Billy would be doing his usual storytelling, which was always really popular with children and people of all ages. He had so many tales to tell, and with Billy's commanding presence, he always managed to completely enthrall his audience. Of course the stories he told were always given clearance by the Tribe Council, and since Billy was the Chief and Head of the Tribe Council, he knew exactly how much he could tell, without giving away any of the tribe's secrets.

This year we even had the cheerleading squad from Forks High to put on some of their routines. It was good practice for them and they had a collection for people to donate money to their fund.

Of course, Quil and the guys couldn't wait to see the squad and had been talking about it non-stop for the past couple of days. I'd even caught Jacob joining in on the guy talk a couple of times when they didn't think I was listening. I seem to remember one of the conversations being centered on cheerleader's uniforms and the general flexibility of their bodies. Then they decided to go into a little more detail regarding body positions, and Paul started telling the guys how he'd dated a cheerleader once.

The conversation had gone downhill rapidly when Paul started recalling how he and his girlfriend had set themselves a challenge to find a position they_ couldn't_ 'do it' in and then proceeded to tell the guys of all the positions they'd tried. To my surprise, it was Jacob who'd asked him why he wasn't still with her if the sex was so great. I was even more surprised when Paul replied that he wasn't with her anymore, because she'd worn him out, which resulted in all the guys rolling around laughing in disbelief. I quickly got out of earshot before any of them could spot me and see my cheeks glowing. I was sure any minute one of them would detect the sudden change in room temperature, from the heat that was radiating from my face.

By 8:30am all the stalls had been set up, and we were ready to welcome our visitors when the gates opened at 9:00. I caught a glimpse of Jacob, who, with the help of Quil and Embry, had hitched up the wagon to the back of the tractor and taken it for a last minute spin around the field before they would have passengers. He was wearing his uniform of denim overalls over a white tee, and I had to stifle a laugh when I saw that Quil and Embry had decided that this year they would also wear the same attire. But, in all honesty, the three of them looked incredibly hot, and even though, in previous years, the tractor rides had been popular, I had the feeling this year they'd be inundated with girls wanting to ride with them.

I suddenly made the decision that before the day was out I'd hitch a ride up alongside Jacob on the tractor. After all, it was my dad's tractor; it wouldn't be too unusual for me to be up front with my best friend, right? It wouldn't look like I was marking my territory at all... would it?

As I busied myself arranging some fruit, I heard Leah's voice approaching a stall a few down from where Sarah and I were. Leah worked at the Stanley's beauty salon in Forks, so I guess along with being naturally gorgeous, she also had inside information on how to always look stunning. Leah was running the beauty stall today with Jessica Stanley, whose mom owned the salon. I had been at school with Jessica, and although we were never the best of friends, she was nice enough, and we always got along well. Today, they were selling various beauty products that you could normally purchase at the salon. I think Jessica's mom and a couple of other ladies were offering manicures and facials too. I knew that Leah had been training to be a beauty therapist. Some of the training was on the job, and she went to community college a couple of days a week too.

I knew Sue and Harry weren't too happy with her career choice, but when they saw how happy it made Leah, they came round to the idea. Also, Sue, Sarah, and many of the others ladies on the reservation benefited from Leah's growing beauty knowledge, and she often practiced massages, facials, manicures, and pedicures on them. I'd even heard the guys laughing about how Leah had practiced some of her new skills on her brother Seth; although, if the truth were known, I think they all would have loved nothing more than a full body massage from Leah Clearwater.

I hadn't realized I was staring at Leah until I heard a familiar voice in my ear. "Hey, B, if looks could kill…" Angela had snuck up behind me.

I quickly looked around and thankfully saw that Sarah hadn't seemed to notice me staring at Leah and hadn't heard Angela's comment either. Also, I was more than grateful that Leah seemed to be oblivious to my staring too.

"Oh, hey, Ang. I um... here, take my house keys and go put your things in my room," I mumbled as I handed Angela my keys.

"Okay, babe, I might go check on Jasper… see if he needs a hand with the horses..."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"What? Are you kidding me? You never want to help out with the horses. What are you up to?" I looked at her suspiciously.

She gave a little giggle and replied, "Well, Sam's new assistant is here – what's his name? Edward. Yeah, well, he seems kind of cute in a preppy sort of way, so I thought I'd go introduce myself and get to know him." She shrugged her shoulders and turned to head towards the house. "I'll see you in a bit, B... and I'll let you know what I think of him." She winked at me over her shoulder and then started walking away.

I watched her go, shaking my head in disbelief. Although, I guess it really didn't surprise me at all. I knew exactly what Angela was like – a huge flirt who was incredibly confident and able to talk to any guy she found attractive. Sometimes I envied her; she seemed so unfazed by most things, whereas, I became a jibbering wreck over and fell over my words, especially lately.

Sure enough, I didn't see Angela for quite a while after she'd gone to put her things in my room. She must have been getting along well with Edward, or she must have found something else to do. I knew she had planned on helping out Sue in the large barn serving food and refreshments, but that wouldn't be until around mid-morning and lunchtime when people would be most hungry or thirsty.

Sarah and I were quite busy selling fruit and veggies, and I couldn't help noticing that the beauty stall also had a steady stream of visitors sampling the products and smelling the various massage oils, scented soaps, and candles. I must admit I was tempted to have a look to see what they had on sale but wasn't sure if I wanted to be faced with having to talk to Leah. Maybe I would wander over there when Leah was having a break, and it would only be Jessica and some of the other ladies looking after the stall. I would have loved to take a look at some of the other stalls too. Emily Uley, Sam's wife, was helping out on one that was selling handmade dream-catchers, beaded purses, and lots of beautiful accessories. There was also a book stall that looked quite interesting.

As I stood looking around, I saw Mike Newton making his way over towards me. Mike's parents owned the hardware store in town, and I had dropped by there last week to inquire about a job they'd advertised in their window. Mike and his dad were here selling some bits and pieces; his mom was back at the store. Mike and I were at school together too, and he was a really nice guy. He'd asked me out a couple of times in the past, and although he was quite sweet, I preferred to keep him as a friend and didn't want it to go any further than that.

"Hey, Bella. Wow, it's busy, right?" He gestured around at the visitors.

"Yeah, it's a good turnout, and thank goodness the weather is nice too. Have you sold much yet?" I asked politely.

"Oh, you know, a few things, but Dad sent me over to ask if you'd come down to the store on Monday to discuss that job... if you're still interested."

"Oh, Mike that would be so great. Could you let your dad know that I'm definitely still interested and I'll be there... um... what time?" I couldn't believe it; this was just what I needed. I couldn't keep the smile off my face as Mike replied.

"Um... about 9:30? We'll give you a quick tour and a go on the cash register, but, honestly, between you and me Bella, the job's yours." Mike leaned in to me to talk quietly and then winked as he pulled back. I couldn't help the little giggle that escaped my lips.

"Okay, I'll see you Monday at 9:30. Thanks Mike!" And before I realized what I was doing, I threw my arms around Mike's neck then quickly retreated and blushed.

"Hey, it's no problem. I'll... um... look forward to seeing you on Monday," Mike said as he turned to walk back in the direction he'd come from, and I inwardly scolded myself for hugging Mike as I took in the grin on his face and the pink of his cheeks.

I heard Sarah clear her throat and turned to see her eyeing me with a raised eyebrow.

"Mike Newton, eh, Bella? I didn't realize there was anything going on there," she said teasingly.

"Oh, no, there isn't anything going on," I quickly blurted out. "They have a job down at the store, and Mike just came over to ask if I'd go down there Monday to check it out. I could really do with having a job and not having to rely on Charlie's allowance, so of course I said I'd go"

I couldn't get my words out quick enough. The last thing I wanted was for Sarah to think that Mike and I were anything more than friends, and for that kind of info to get back to Jacob.

Sarah laughed softly and added, "Well, Mike sure seemed pretty pleased with that hug, honey."

"It was just a thank you hug... that's all," I said, looking at Sarah pleadingly and then at my feet.

"Sure, sure...I believe you, sweetheart." And with that, she turned to busy herself with our next customer.

Our stall was close to the big barn doors, and as I looked out and over towards the wide drive, I could see Embry and Quil helping people into the wagon on the back of the tractor. Then I spotted Jacob looking over at me and gave him a smile and wave. I was a little puzzled when he didn't smile or wave back but nodded an acknowledgement before turning to help Quil and Embry.

It was about eleven when Angela came back over to the stall. She had been helping Sue serve refreshments and snacks after all, and one of the other girls from the reservation had taken over, so she had decided to come check on me. Sarah wanted to disappear for a half an hour, and Angela said she wasn't needed back at the big barn, so she stayed with me to cover Sarah.

"So... what did you think of Edward?" I asked when we had a quiet moment.

"Oh, he was okay. Nice hair, but I don't know, B. I don't think he's really my type."

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Er... seriously, Ang? You have a type?" I asked. Thankfully, Angela and I were used to each other's teasing, and she hadn't taken any offense at my question.

"Well... not really," she laughed, "but somehow I think Eddy boy is a little too refined for me. You know, I wouldn't want to shock him."

We both laughed loudly then Angela continued.

"But I did find out something that you don't know!"

I couldn't help but be intrigued.

"Hmmm... well, I'm listening. Go ahead!" I knew Angela was dying to tell me what she found out and didn't really need any encouragement.

"Well, Edward has a cousin in town..." she said slowly, "Emmett McCarty... and Emmett's here... today. Do you remember Rosalie Hale? Well, she's here helping out with the cheerleading squad, and she and Emmett are dating." Angela stepped back, folding her arms across her chest and smiling smugly to herself.

"Did Edward tell you all this?" I asked her. It didn't bother me that Emmett was here or that he was dating Rosalie. I certainly wasn't surprised either; Rosalie was beautiful, tall, slender, and very blonde. I could definitely see Emmett and her together as a couple, and I was happy that Emmett was with someone. He was such a nice guy; he definitely deserved all the happiness he could get.

"No of course Edward didn't. In fact, he didn't talk much at all, but Emmett was there, and I chatted with him for a bit. He said he was going to find you and say hello too. He's so nice, B... hot too!"

I rolled my eyes at her.

"Yeah, he's a great guy. I'm happy for him."

Sarah returned a few minutes later, and I asked Angela if she minded helping Sarah out while I took a wander for a while to check on things. I didn't tell Angela that I was hoping to catch a ride on the tractor with Jacob, but she guessed it was in his direction I was headed.

I left the barn and started making my way over to the tractor when I was swept up in a hug from behind.

"Hey, how's my Bella Bear?" I heard a familiar voice.

"Oh my god, Emmett! Angela said you were here. It's great to see you. How are you?" I managed to say breathlessly as Emmett placed me back on the ground, and I turned to face him. He always had the ability to take my breath away, and it wasn't just the result of his bear hugs. Emmett was incredibly huge and handsome, and when he smiled, he just looked like a cheeky little boy, and my heart just melted at the sight of his dimples.

"Oh, babe, I'm good. I guess Angie told you about Rose and me?" He smiled down at me.

"She did, and I'm really happy for you. How long have you been together?" I asked, genuinely interested.

"It's been eight months, and we're really happy."

"Awww, that's great, Em! Rosalie always seemed like a really nice girl," I replied enthusiastically.

"Yeah, she's great, but you know Bella, you'll always have a special place in my heart." He put his hand on his chest. If it had come from any other guy, I most likely would have been on the verge of vomiting. But Emmett was always so genuine and lovely that I knew he meant it, and it came across as a really nice thing to say, not creepy or cheesy at all.

"Same here, Em," I said as I reached up on my tip toes and threw my arms around his neck.

"Well, I better get going and see how Rose is doing. It's been great seeing you, Bella, and you look wonderful." Emmett gave me a tight hug back and then slowly let go.

"Thanks. It's been great seeing you too... and look after that girl of yours," I said as I stepped back from him.

"You know it!" He winked, then turned, and, with a quick wave, made his way over to the big barn.

I watched him go for a couple of seconds then turned to continue walking over to where the tractor would be pulling up to drop off and reload passengers. I could hear it approaching from behind me and waited patiently out of the way while Embry, Quil and Jacob help those that needed it get off the wagon.

Once Jacob had finished, and Quil and Embry started helping the next set of passenger on the wagon, I approached Jacob.

"Hey, you... How's it going? I couldn't help noticing you've been pretty popular today," I said, smiling as I glanced at the group of giggling girls who were readily accepting Quil and Embry's help. I also noticed a few admiring glances aimed in Jake's direction, as well as some pretty cold stares aimed in mine.

"Oh, you know, Bells the usual steady stream," Jake answered without looking at me as he made his way around to the front of the tractor and appeared to be checking dials and gauges.

I slowly followed him, watching what he was doing.

Then, without looking up, he added, "I couldn't help noticing you've been pretty popular today yourself Bella."

I was a little shocked at Jacob's tone. He didn't appear to be his usual jokey self, and I sensed a bit of an awkwardness.

"Um, yeah... well, you know the fruit and veggie stall always does really well," I carried on, hoping to relieve some of the tension, "and I'm sure your mom is the reason for its success. She's so good and welcoming with the customers. I'm sure half of them visit the stall just to have a quick chat with her." I laughed.

Jacob didn't seem to see the funny side and huffed before he spoke again. "So what did Mike Newton buy? Oh, and, um, Emmett-what's-his-name... didn't look like either of them were buying fruit or veggies to me." He looked at me hard with his lips stuck in a straight line.

I didn't know what to say. I stood looking at him then, with a shake of my head and a frown I managed to speak. "Jacob Black, what's gotten into you?"

But before he could answer, we were interrupted by the excited shouts of a little boy who ran up to Jacob and pulled at his overalls.

"Farmer Jake! Farmer Jake! Please let me go on your tractor. Don't go without me!"

Jacob looked down at the little boy, who must have only been about four years old, and we both looked around as we heard the little boy's mom approach.

"Oh, I'm so sorry about that! Flynn, don't you ever run off from mommy again. We have to wait our turn and see if we can get a ride next time." She looked at Jacob apologetically.

Jacob took a quick glance at the back of the wagon and then back at Flynn's mom, smiling before picking the little boy up in his arms and heading towards the back of the tractor.

"Come on, buddy, looks like there's just enough room for you and your mommy on this trip." He handed Flynn over to Embry as Quil put his hand out to help Flynn's mom on the wagon.

Jacob headed back to the front of the tractor, where I still stood.

"So do you think I could have a ride up front with you?" I asked tentatively.

"I'm not sure, Bella. It's pretty bumpy. I don't want you falling off," he said stiffly and looked back towards the wagon.

"Oh, come on, Jake, I've driven this tractor as many times as you have, and we always used to ride together when we were younger... or... maybe you don't want me to cramp your style. Don't want to give the wrong impression to all those young ladies in the back there," I teased.

Jacob rolled his eyes as Embry called from the back, "We're all set here, Jake. Ready when you are."

"Okay, Bells, hop on. But hold on tight. I mean it." Jacob was still being serious, but the atmosphere from before had eased slightly.

Once I was in my seat and comfortable, Jacob revved the engine and we were away.

It was impossible to have a conversation with Jacob up front over the noise from the tractor, so we sat quietly as Embry and Quil answered any questions from the passengers. I glanced at Jacob a few times, but apart from a couple of smiles at me, he generally kept his eyes ahead. However, I was able to get in a few sneaky glances at his arms and thighs, and I loved watching his muscles flex when he shifted gear or changed pedals. At one point, as we rounded a particular rough corner, I was too busy watching his hands on the wheel and didn't anticipate the bumps.

The next thing I knew I was flung across Jacob. My left hand automatically grabbed his arm; my right hand, however, landed very high up on the inside of his right thigh. With hardly a look in my direction, Jacob chuckled and very slowly took my hand off his thigh and placed it on my own. Then, looking dead ahead, he leaned nearer to me and, with a very smug grin on his face, said loud enough for me to hear, "I think you need to hold on tighter, Bells. You know... you could use a firmer grip!"

I blushed furiously, took my hand off his arm, and held tightly to the hand rail by my seat for the remainder of the ride.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Thank you as always to the wonderful jkane180 for being my amazing Beta. I am so sorry for taking such a long time in getting this chapter done, I really struggled with it. I have also used a little prompt which was the result of a Twitter discussion with Stormcascade and another _Mighty_ twitter friend. The discussion was around Taylor's appearance on the Mechanical Bull on the Jimmy Fallon show. Go check it out if you haven't seen it. As usual all recognizable characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, I just decided to play with them a little. Please review and let me know what you think, any feedback is greatly appreciated. I'm also open to ideas and prompts so feel free to have a say. Many thanks for reading! Ali x

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As the tractor came back around to the front of the house, Jacob parked it and killed the engine.

I'd stayed quiet for the rest of the trip. Not only was it far too noisy to have a proper conversation, I was totally embarrassed about what had happened. Did Jacob think I was trying to feel him up? He'd seemed to shrug it off after his remark, but it had left me a little flustered. So yeah, it was definitely for the best that I kept quiet; otherwise, I was likely to say something really embarrassing if I did open my mouth.

Jacob jumped down from his side of the tractor, and as I moved to do the same, he raced around to my side to help me.

He held his arms out for me, and I rolled my eyes, letting out a silly girly giggle - what the hell was that about?

"Jake, you know I can manage to get off this thing by myself," I said, blushing as I moved forward and held onto his arms.

"Yeah, well, I know that, Bells, but it wouldn't look good in front of the other passengers, would it?" he laughed as he effortlessly hoisted me down.

I could feel the muscles in his arms flex as he took my weight, and I was totally enjoying the moment.

Even though I said I could get down by myself, I was very happy that Jacob had insisted on helping me.

"Oh, I see. Worried about your image again, Jake?"

My feet found the ground, and I was suddenly very aware that Jacob's hands were on my waist and I was still holding on to his upper arms. I didn't mind at all.

Jacob chuckled, and biting his bottom lip, he shook his head. "I really thought you knew me better than that, Bells." He was smiling down at me, his eyes searching mine.

"Mmm, so did I, but now I'm beginning to wonder," I teased as we still held onto each other.

"Oh yeah, and what exactly have I done to make you think differently?" He bent his head down slightly and looked at me intently.

Hell! Now I was stuck. I was just teasing him with what I'd said, but obviously I did view him completely differently now. Also, I was still unsure of what was going on between him and Leah, and what the hell was wrong with him when I'd first come over to the tractor? Was it wishful thinking to hope that he could be a little jealous?

I bit my lip as I tried to come up with an answer, that wouldn't cause tension again.

"Okay, Jake, everyone's unloaded."

"Yeah, come on, we're gonna go check out those cheerleaders, remember? And grab some lunch."

Thankfully Quil and Embry had unwittingly come to my rescue.

Jacob and I quickly let go of each other and looked at the guys as they approached us.

"Right, yeah, lunch." Jacob looked thoughtful as I glanced at Quil and shook my head. Trust him to mention the cheerleaders.

"Ah, come on, Bella, you can't blame us guys for wanting to take a quick look." He looked at me pleadingly. "Besides it's not just me this time; these two are just as guilty." He motioned towards Jacob and Embry. They both looked at me with sheepish grins, like two naughty little boys who just got caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

"What can I say, Bells? We are just normal, hot-blooded guys," Jacob offered, almost apologetically.

"With needs..." Embry added cheekily.

I rolled my eyes and turned back to Quil who was now standing very triumphantly with his arms folded across his chest and a smug grin on his face.

"Yeah, Bella, if you ever wanted to get to know one of us a whole lot better... we could show you how hot-blooded we are!"

I felt heat rush to my face at the thought of getting that much closer to Jacob and finding out what he could really be like. As my thoughts headed in that direction, I struggled to come up with a quick response to Quil.

"Um... yeah. Okay... I better get back." Quil chuckled at my embarrassment, and I quickly looked at Jacob to see if he had noticed it, but he and Embry had started a different conversation.

"Okay, Em, remember what I told you about taking that top right corner by the cornfield. You need to slow it right down and keep checking the wagon, right?"

"Jeez, Jake, you told me a hundred times already. I've driven this thing before, ya know!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know! It's just hard handing over the reins. That's all."

I looked between Jacob and Embry.

"Oh my God, Jacob Black, are you going to actually let someone else drive the tractor?" My previous embarrassment was forgotten as I let out an exaggerated gasp and covered my mouth, feigning shock.

"Oh, Jake's gonna... Ow! What the...?"

Embry nudged Quil in the ribs, while Jacob shot him a warning look.

"What's going on?" I asked, looking at each of them.

"Are you still gonna be on the stall around 3:00?"

"Um, yeah, I think so. Why?"

"Well, if you can get someone to cover for about half an hour, pop over to the large paddock."

"Jake, what's going on?" I was really curious now.

Embry and Quil both stood by our sides with big silly grins on their faces, not saying anything.

"Trust me, Bells. If you get the chance, just take a look over at the paddock, about 3:00, okay?"

"Sure, Jake, I'll try. Anyhow, I really do need to head back. Your mom and Ang will be wondering where I am."

I made my way to the barn, wondering what the hell Jacob was up to.

When I got back, Sue had sent some sandwiches and drinks over for us. So while it was quiet, we took the opportunity to eat.

I was tempted to ask Sarah if she had any idea what Jacob was up to, but thought better of it. I was a bit worried that it could be something she wouldn't approve of or that it was a planned surprise, and I didn't want to be the one to ruin it.

After we'd eaten, Sarah went off to wander for a bit, but insisted that when she got back she could look after the stall herself. There wasn't a lot left to sell, and things usually started slowing down in the afternoon.

As soon as Sarah left, I explained to Angela everything that had happened. Seeing Emmett, Jacob's strange reaction to me, the tractor ride, me grabbing his thigh - which she insisted I'd done on purpose - and the thing that Jacob had mentioned about being at the paddock at 3:00.

I noticed that Leah wasn't around on the beauty stall much after lunch, and I could see that the guys hadn't started the tractor rides again. I couldn't help wondering if Leah was with Jacob. Maybe they had arranged to have lunch together. But he hadn't mentioned anything, and I thought that if he was seeing Leah, he wouldn't have encouraged me to go to the paddock later, would he? But as far as Jacob was concerned, we were just friends, so it was highly possibly that he wanted me to see whatever it was in a 'friends' capacity only. Oh hell!

My head was beginning to hurt with the amount of Jacob thoughts that were going on in there lately. He was literally all I could think about.

I just needed to be brave, grab the bull by the horns, and ask him how he felt about me. So what was stopping me? Well, for one thing, I just wasn't very brave at all, and it was at times like this that I really wished I had Ang's confidence.

Secondly, I guess I was scared that Jacob didn't like me in that way. Then it could ruin our friendship once he knew how I felt about him. Was I really willing to put our easy, comfortable friendship at risk?

Yes, my head was most definitely pounding. If only there was some way of finding out how Jacob felt about me without jeopardising our current friendship!

Sarah returned and told me to go off and enjoy myself. She would take care of the stall for the rest of the afternoon by herself.

After double checking that she was absolutely sure, Ang and I decided to check out some of the other things on sale.

While Leah still didn't appear to be around, we quickly checked out the beauty products. I couldn't resist a Yang Yang and Patchouli set of body wash and body lotion, which smelled gorgeous.

We walked around and bumped into quite a few people we knew, so we spent some time just chatting with them and catching up.

The afternoon flew by, and around 2:50, we took a slow walk up to the large paddock.

The tractor passed us on one of its trips, and I smiled when I saw that Embry seemed to be really comfortable being in charge. Quil was in the back of the wagon along with little Seth Clearwater, who actually wasn't 'little' at all anymore. They were laughing and talking with a group of young girls, who were gazing at them and hanging on to their every word.

Angela exclaimed beside me when she saw Seth, "What is it with those guys from La Push? They're so fucking big and hot!" I couldn't help the little giggle that escaped my lips.

Okay, so my mind had been on Jacob constantly lately, but Angela was absolutely right. All the guys were extremely hot, and I was surprised to see how grown-up Seth looked flirting with the girls in the wagon. He was a couple of years younger than me, but he looked older, and just like Jacob and the others, he had an incredible physique and was drop dead gorgeous.

Both Ang and I stood watching the tractor continue on its way as we both let out a harmonized sigh. We quickly looked at each and busted out laughing at our ridiculous swooning. After recovering from our fit of giggles, we made our way over to the paddock.

A small crowd of people had gathered and were situated around the white fencing that surrounded the area. There appeared to be some poles set up, which looked liked they'd be used for horse jumping.

Suddenly my heart started pounding. Was Jacob going to be horse riding? Is that why he wanted me to be here? That was ridiculous; Jacob couldn't ride a horse. Could he?

Angela seemed to be thinking the same thing, as she turned to me and asked the same questions that were racing around my head. We stood looking at each other puzzled, when we heard clapping and cheering around us.

As I turned back to see what was happening, Angela let out a slow whistle beside me.

Walking to the center of the paddock were Jasper, Jacob, and Edward, and each was leading one of the horses from our stables.

I could only stare shamelessly at Jacob as I took in what he was wearing.

My eyes travelled the length of his body, starting at his black Stetson hat, down his black v neck t-shirt clad torso, to the jeans he was now wearing. But my eyes struggled to move any further since he was wearing brown leather chaps, and the way they were buckled at his waist just emphasized the bulge at his crotch.

"Holy fuck! And to think I nearly..."

I turned quickly and could only glare at Angela as she shrugged her shoulders and mouthed 'sorry' to me.

I returned my gaze to Jacob and was shocked to see that he was smiling right at me.

I returned his smile and shook my head, not quite able to believe what I was seeing. I hadn't really paid much attention to what Jasper or Edward were wearing, but as I glanced at them I could see that they were dressed similarly to Jacob.

The guys waved at everyone and there were a few cheers and whoops; a few wolf whistles too. I looked around and could see that the crowd was steadily growing and then I heard Sarah beside me.

"I know he's my boy and I'm biased, but he looks so handsome, don't you think Bella?"

"Um, yeah, he looks... um, amazing."

I blushed as I caught Sarah's eye but quickly returned my gaze to the man in front of me. I knew Sarah was supposed to be watching the stall, but I was far too busy watching Jacob to ask her about it.

Suddenly, he gripped the reins, put his left leg up in the stirrup, and pulled his body up. Then, in one fluid motion, he swung his right leg over and was sitting atop the animal.

I could only gape at him in awe. I had never seen Jacob on a horse before, and I had to confess he looked mighty fine and so fucking hot. I had trouble stopping myself from moaning out loud as he nudged the horse into a steady trot around the paddock.

I hadn't even noticed Jasper and Edward mount their horses since I couldn't tear my eyes away from Jacob.

I watched his hands holding tightly to the reins as he led the animal around the area. The horse obeyed him as it went from a gentle trot to a canter, and then he was galloping.

I never knew that Jacob could ride a horse. He'd certainly never mentioned it to me, but here he was in command of this beautiful creature and looking like he knew exactly what he was doing.

Angela continued to let out little exclamations and a few expletives beside me, which I assumed were aimed at Jacob. I couldn't take my eyes off him, so I had no idea what Jasper and Edward were doing.

Jacob really did look amazing, and I felt extremely proud of my best guy friend. I peered in Sarah's direction and caught her eye as she looked at me. We both grinned like proud idiots as Jacob continued to gallop around.

"Did you know?" I asked her, still amazed at his horse riding skills.

"He mentioned he'd been learning to ride a while back but told me not to say anything. I didn't know what he had planned for today though. Sue came over and told me to head up here, saying I'd be interested to see what was happening... She's keeping an eye on the stall."

I nodded with a smile and turned my attention back to the wonderful sight in front of me as a loud cheer went up from the crowd.

Suddenly I saw all three guys galloping around the paddock in some kind of formation. Although I was fixated on watching my man. _Oh my god, really, Bella 'my man'? _I did noticed how well Jasper and Edward were riding too. I honestly expected nothing less from Jasper, since he loved horses and had literally been brought up with them. But I didn't know Edward and was impressed at how well he handled his horse. He, too looked like a professional.

Suddenly, my heart was in my mouth as I saw Jacob approach one of the make shift fences that had been erected in the center of the paddock. I couldn't help letting out a small gasp as his horse flew over it. Thankfully, both rider and horse landed smoothly and gracefully, and I truly could not believe what I was seeing.

Angela and I clapped and whooped madly along with the rest of the crowd as the guys continued to jump over fences and gallop around.

As the little display came to an end, each of the guys waved at the crowd, smiling and laughing loudly. I could tell that they had thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

They took one last gallop around the paddock, and as Jacob approached where we were stood, he held on to the reins with one hand. Then, reaching up, he took off his hat and threw it in my direction.

Instinctively, I thrust my hands up in the air and caught it, to the delighted applause of Sarah and Angela. I felt like some young fan girl as I quickly placed his hat on my head and bounced excitedly on my heels.

Angela leaned into me. "Oh my fucking god, Bella, how damn sexy was that? He singled you out, girl!"

"Oh Ang, oh my god... Amazing!" was all I could say.

I couldn't stop smiling as I turned to Sarah and repeated, "He was so amazing!"

She threw her arms around me and drew me into a hug. "Oh honey, he certainly was!"

"Hey, hey... looks like I'm missing out on something here!"

Both Sarah and I looked up at the same time to see Jacob jump over the white paddock fence and approach us.

Sarah immediately threw her arms around her son and exclaimed how wonderful he was and how proud she was of him while he hugged her back enthusiastically.

My heart was racing when he let go of his mom and turned to me. I didn't know whether to hug him or just look at him - which was ridiculous since Jacob and I always used to hug.

There seemed to be an awkward moment for a second or two, where we just looked at each other grinning like idiots.

"So since when did you become a cowboy?"

It was Angela who spoke, but I was still gazing at Jacob as I heard Billy reply jokingly.

"Hey, my son ain't no cowboy... he's a Native American, who happens to be a mighty fine horseman!"

"Hey, Dad! You saw?"

"Of course I did, son. Me and Charlie wouldn't have missed it for the world! You did good, boy!"

"Thanks, Dad."

Jacob and Billy's exchange was very short and manly and a complete contrast to how us women had reacted.

Sarah mentioned getting back to Sue, so she and Billy headed back down to the barn. I watched as they left and heard Sarah ask Billy if he had known what Jacob had planned. Billy had laughed loudly and replied that of course he did and he was damn proud of himself for managing to keep it a secret from her.

I couldn't help smiling as I saw Sarah laugh and smack Billy's arm.

I turned back to see Jacob smiling down at me and could feel myself blushing.

"It looks good on you."

"What? Oh... the hat" I'd forgotten that I was still wearing Jacob's Stetson and quickly took it off my head and held it out to him.

"Nah, it looked much better on you..." _Oh shit, Bella, really?_

Jacob just looked down at his hat then back to me, grinning.

I couldn't believe that my insides had literally turned to mush, and I couldn't even think of anything sensible to say as Jacob stood there, smiling his sexy-as-hell smile, like only Jacob could.

"Keep it, Bells... Seriously, I like it on you."

Okay, I was sure my face was absolutely glowing now because I could feel the heat in my cheeks intensify and my heart was pounding like crazy.

I heard Angela groan beside me, and I thought for a split second it was at my lameness.

"Oh my god, Jake! You were so good out there. You looked pretty hot too!"

Jacob laughed as Leah threw her arms around his neck.

"Um, wow... thanks, Leah." Jacob looked a little surprised but hugged her back.

"You were wonderful, really... Wasn't he wonderful, Bella?"

Leah was looking at me now with her arm around his waist as she snuggled into his side. I felt physically sick as a wave of nausea washed over me.

I looked down and fumbled with the hat in my hands. A few seconds ago, I was the happiest girl in the world, and suddenly, I felt like that same world was now falling apart around me.

"Yeah, he was great... they all did really well." I hoped to god that my voice didn't betray how I was feeling as I continued, "Um... we're gonna head back and help pack up..."

"Okay, well, I'll see you later at the beach, Bells. See you too Ang..."

I turned and started walking away, unable to look at them anymore. I felt completely dejected and didn't want to risk having to talk to them again now for fear that anything I said would just come out as a sob.

Angela walked quietly beside me and, when we were a safe distance away, tried to cheer me up.

"It was for you, B. The whole horse riding thing... not for that bitch. He gave you his hat B... That's got to mean something, right?"

I stopped and gazed at the hat in my hand, willing the lump in my throat to disappear.

"What it means, Ang, is that she got the guy... and I got the consolation prize..."


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Thank you as always to the amazing jkane180 for being my beta, you rock!

What can I say? I am so, so, sorry for leaving you all hanging for this long. The only excuse I can give is that real life has been really crazy over the last few months, and will continue to be for a few more. But I finally have an update for you and you'll be pleased to know I have another two chapters already written, so a couple more updates will follow shortly. This chapter is a bit of a filler, but I really hope you enjoy it. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews I really do appreciate them, even if I don't always reply. It's great to get feedback and it really helps to keep me motivated to give you more.

All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, but you know that, right?

Thank you for reading. Enjoy! Ali x

xXx

"Oh God, Ang. I don't want to go. Seriously, I feel sick. Let's just stay here and have a girly night."

I couldn't stand the thought of seeing Jacob and Leah all over each other. I'd moped around for the rest of the afternoon and hadn't been very talkative. Thankfully, although she always spoke her mind and usually didn't shut up, Angela knew when I was upset and would just hang around to support me. But now, as the time was getting closer to the bonfire, she had started to voice her opinion again.

"No way, B. We're going. Jacob and everyone else will be expecting to see you."

"But I can't face them... I really don't want to see them draped all over each other again. I'll die, Ang. Really I will," I whined miserably.

"Oh for fuck's sake, B, look, I know it's gonna be tough, seeing them together, but you're gonna have to face it sooner or later... and if I'm right, it was _her_ all over _him _this afternoon. He didn't make much of an effort to reciprocate."

I watched her reflection in the mirror as she put the finishing touches on my hair.

"...and I may be wrong, but I don't think they're together. I think you're just seeing the worst case scenario." She met my gaze and smiled encouragingly.

"But you saw them, Ang. She had her arms all over him." I groaned.

"Exactly: _her_ arms all over _him_! Now stop being a fucking drama queen," she sighed dramatically. "I say we go there tonight and you go get your man."

I gave a half smile through the mirror and only wished I could be more confident.

"And if I do say so myself, I think I've done a fucking fantastic job on you tonight!"

Angela stood back from me as I appraised myself in the mirror. I had been so busy feeling sorry for myself that I hadn't even paid attention to what she had been doing to my face and hair.

I smiled weakly at the image before me. Angela really had done an amazing job, and I almost didn't recognize the woman staring back at me.

"Don't you think maybe this is a bit much? You know, I don't want to look too over the top."

Angela folded her arms irritably. "I swear, B, if it weren't for the fact that you're my friend and I love you, I could fucking smack the shit out of you sometimes!"

"Ouch, that hurts," I whispered, frowning at her.

"Yeah, so be grateful you're my friend because it would hurt a whole lot more if you weren't. Now, just stop talking shit. You look fuck hot, and if Jacob doesn't notice you tonight, then the guy's a fucking idiot."

I groaned loudly as I stood to put on my black ballet pumps.

Angela had picked out a dark red strapless summer dress - another purchase from Port Angeles that I hadn't worn - which came to just above my knees and had a tight, fitted bodice that pushed my boobs forwards and upwards, showing off a nice bit of cleavage.

Looking back at the mirror, I shook my head and felt my hair fall against my shoulders and back in loose, shiny curls. Angela had finished my look with some smoky eye makeup and a touch of red lip gloss.

Even though I felt a little strange dressed up like this, I couldn't help twirling around and smiling at myself. I really did look good and felt kind of sexy too.

I was so anxious about seeing Jacob a few minutes ago, but now after checking myself out, there was a little part of me that couldn't wait to see him and desperately wanted him to see me. I had never dressed like this before, and Jacob was in for a real shock.

Angela had gotten herself dressed up too. She always liked to dress nicely and wear make-up, so she always looked gorgeous, but the electric blue dress she was wearing tonight was amazing and showed off her figure in all the right places.

We stood next to each other, admiring our reflections, as Angela put her arm around my waist.

"You've got to admit it, B, those hot Quileute guys are so gonna meet their match tonight. I just can't decide which one I want."

"Oh my god, Ang, you're terrible." I laughed at her, as she looked at me innocently.

"Hey, it's true. In all honesty, I want them all, apart from Jacob, of course," she nudged me gently, "I think I might have to give them all a try out."

I shook my head, laughing. After all the years we'd been friends, Angela still manage to shock me occasionally.

"Even little Seth?" I asked cocking my eyebrow.

"Fuck yeah! You saw him today in that wagon: there's nothing little about him anymore... damn, I'd love to give that little puppy a go!" She winked at me.

"You're unbelievable!" I laughed, shaking my head again as I took a final glance at the mirror. Jacob really was in for a bit of a surprise, and although I wasn't looking forward to seeing him and Leah together tonight, I was kind of excited to see his reaction to the way I looked.

Angela headed out my bedroom door, and I followed.

We decided to take Angela's car. The beach wasn't far and we could have walked, but Angela was happy to drive and it would save us from having to walk home in the dark.

Once we had parked, we headed down the small path towards the beach. My stomach was doing crazy flips at the thought of seeing Jacob. It felt so weird to be this anxious about seeing him. Jacob had always been around and was part of my life - for what seemed like forever - but I had never before felt this nervous about seeing him.

Jacob and I had always had fun. We laughed, hugged, played, and cried together over the years. But the thought of just seeing him tonight had turned me into a quivering wreck. Maybe the only way to get around this was to talk to him about how I felt and try to gauge what he thought of me. But I was so scared of messing up our friendship.

As Angela and I approached the beach, we could see a huge fire had already been started and a few of the guys were messing around with a football down by the water's edge. We could hear the hoots and hollers, and a tinge of disappointment washed over me when I didn't see Jacob among them.

We made our way over to the fire, where some logs had been strategically placed for us all to sit around it. Although I generally saw many of the guys around the farm helping out, I was kind of friendly with a few of the girls from the reservation too. So Angela and I felt pretty comfortable when we sat down amongst a few of the girls and they happily greeted us. We weren't strangers to La Push and had been coming to the beach and bonfires for some years now.

We laughed amongst ourselves and discussed how well the open day had gone. Of course, many of us who were sitting around the fire had helped out in one way or another during the day, and I began to relax as the conversation flowed easily. I think it helped, too, that Leah hadn't been amongst the girls, so my mood had lifted a little at least.

Angela was always very talkative and seemed to get along with everyone. It made it much easier for me to sit back, listen, and observe while she kept the conversation light and jovial.

As I glanced around I still couldn't spot Jacob or Leah, but before my mind starting working overtime, I also noted that Sam, Emily, and Embry were missing too.

Just as I made that observation, I could see that the guys had stopped playing ball and had started heading back up the beach towards us.

As they got a bit closer, we heard a couple of wolf whistles, and the rest of the girls turned to look at the guys coming towards us.

"Wow, ladies, aren't you looking lovely tonight?" Of course it had to be Quil, who was leering at us with a big grin on his face.

Angela rolled her eyes. "What are you trying to say, Quilly, that B and I don't look lovely all the time?"

"Oh, Angie baby, you always look hot. Trouble is I can't always tell you. My blood rushes south at the sight of you, and my mouth don't function so good then," he said, grabbing his crotch crudely.

Ang flicked her hair back over her shoulder. "Wow, wouldn't want to make out with you then? You must be a shit kisser."

Quil took a step closer as we all just watched and listened to what was going on. A few of the guys were snickering at the exchanges.

"I ain't had no complaints so far, sweetheart. Maybe you wanna give it a go, eh?"

Angela stood up and leaned in seductively to speak in Quil's ear.

"Ah baby, I'm gonna have to give it a miss tonight. You see, I'd need to be completely wasted, on the verge of passing out, before I'd go anywhere near you... and tonight I'm driving, so, you see, it ain't gonna happen."

Angela sat back down as Quil stood watching her, with his arms folded across his broad chest and a smug smile on his face.

"Yeah, yeah, we all know you want me Angie. It's just a matter of time, baby, just a matter of time."

I shook my head, laughing. I was used to Angela and Quil constantly flirting with each other, and although Angela thought all the La Push guys were hot, she and Quil were always teasing each other. I really did think that it was just a matter of time before something happened between them.

"So, Baby Bell, no bikini, uh?" I had been so caught up with Angela and Quil that I hadn't noticed that Paul had sat down next to me on the log.

"Uh, no Paul, no bikini tonight," I answered briefly feeling slightly uncomfortable that suddenly the attention was on me… and also that Paul happened to be shirtless.

"Well, I think I can forgive you this time, baby, 'cause that dress sure makes up for the lack of skin on display," Paul drawled beside me, eyeing me up and down.

Moving away slightly, I turned towards him, putting a little distance between us.

"Oh, well, I think the amount of skin you have on display is enough for the both of us." I couldn't help glancing down his chest, even though I knew I shouldn't have. I had to admit. He was hot, and his body was gorgeous. And he knew it.

Paul obviously caught me looking and flashed his sexiest smile.

"We were playing football, skins against shirts. You can play if you want, but only if you're on my team..." Then he leaned into me and winked. "...but you'd have to lose the dress."

I heard one of the girls snort beside Paul.

"What's wrong with you guys? Anyone would think you hadn't seen a couple of white girls before. Leave 'em alone, you animals."

"Awww, what's wrong Kimi? Not getting any attention tonight?" Paul turned to mock Kim.

"Oh, fuck off, Lahote. Yours is most definitely not the kind of attention I would ever want."

Thankfully, Paul and Kim had started bickering, and I took the opportunity to get Angela to move a little further along the log to put a bit of distance between Paul and myself.

As we sat watching the flames, the general conversation picked up again.

Suddenly Angela cleared her throat and nudged me in the ribs gently, but I had already spotted him.

Jacob came walking towards the fire with Embry, and they each held a pile of driftwood in their arms, which they threw down beside one of the logs.

Jacob brushed the sand off his hands against his jeans and rolled his sleeves up a bit further. He was wearing a white button shirt, unbuttoned slightly. I couldn't help noticing how the light material of his shirt just emphasized the dark tan skin of his chest, and I literally melted there and then.

I quickly scanned behind him and was relieved to see that Leah was nowhere in sight. Returning my gaze to Jacob, his eyes landed on mine. My stomach flipped as he gave me his biggest smile and headed straight over to us.

I watched him as he sat down in the gap I'd created between myself and Paul.

Feeling a lot like a silly schoolgirl with a huge crush, I playfully nudged him with my arm.

"Hey, you." I felt ridiculously shy and blushed furiously when he nudged me back.

"Hey to you too!" He chuckled. We sat side by side, staring into the fire and listening to the banter that was going on around us. Paul was still teasing Kim, and a couple of other girls had joined in.

Quil had managed to sit on the other side of Angela, and Embry had sat down on the sand next to Quil and joined in their conversation. Jacob appeared to be listening to them, but I was only aware of how close Jacob was sitting next to me. His thigh was pressed against mine, and I made no effort to move.

I loved the feel of having him right beside me, and at that moment, I felt kind of special that Jacob had made a point of coming and sitting right next to me.

I tried to pay attention to what the group was discussing, but I was constantly being distracted. With every breath Jacob took, I could feel his chest and arm move gently against me. We really couldn't be sitting any closer. With each laugh or comment, his deep voice reverberated around me, and I was sure I was becoming rapidly intoxicated by the gorgeous, masculine smell of his cologne.

I turned my head towards the fire and gave a small contented sigh as I watch the beautiful colored flames licking the burning driftwood.

"Are you okay, Bells? Are you warm enough?" Jacob brought his head down to speak quietly in my ear.

What would Jacob have done if I'd said that I wasn't warm? Would he have wrapped his arms around me to warm me up? I was very tempted to lie, and say that I was feeling a little cold, but I couldn't lie to Jacob.

"I'm good. Thanks, Jake," I replied glancing up at him and suddenly feeling very hot when I saw the way he was looking at me - or to be more precise - the way he was looking at my dress.

Jacob cleared his throat. "Um, you look... really nice this evening, Bells," he said hoarsely.

"Thanks, Jake. Do you like it?" I asked, batting my eyelashes a little. "I thought I'd dress up a little bit tonight."

"Yeah, I do like it." He leaned back a little and gave me a very long, slow, appreciative look. "Um... I like it a lot," he replied quietly, his voice cracking slightly.

I blushed even more as I wondered if Jacob actually found me attractive. His reaction and appraisal of me certainly seemed to indicate that it was a possibility. At that thought, my heart did an extra little skip, and I bit my bottom lip to stop my grin from spreading from ear to ear.

"You know, you were pretty amazing on that horse this afternoon, Jake," I gushed, wanting to take the opportunity to let him know how impressed I was.

"Thanks, honey, but I have to admit I was kind of scared... I thought I'd mess up somehow." He laughed as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. I couldn't help noticing his manly, dark, stubble and the cute dimple in the center of his chin. I had to fight the urge to lean over and run my lips along his jaw, I wanted to feel his ruggedness against my lips.

"Really? Because you didn't look scared – not even a little. You looked... really good." I licked my lips at the thought, still looking at his jaw.

Jacob gave another chuckle. "Just keep stroking my ego, Bells. I can feel my head swelling by the second."

"Mmm, wonder which head he's talking about…" Angela whispered as she nudged me.

I hadn't realized she was listening to us. Thankfully, Jacob didn't appear to have heard her, but the damage in my mind had already been done, and I couldn't resist a sly peek at the top of Jacob's thighs, in that general direction. I sighed quietly, and mentally cursed the loose shirt that was covering any incriminating evidence.

"So how long have you been riding? I didn't even know you could ride," I asked, truly curious. After all, this was a part of Jacob that I hadn't known existed.

"Well, it started out as a kind of a bet. Me and Jaz were talking about the horses one day a few months back, and I said that there'd be no way anyone would get me on one of those things. Well, of course Jaz said he bet that he could teach me to ride. If he won, I'd have to do the little display we did today, and if I won, he'd have to help out with the tractor rides instead."

"But how did you manage to keep it a secret? I had no idea that you were learning. How did you keep it from me?" I laughed. After all, I usually knew everything that Jacob was up to.

"Well, up until last week you were at school, Bells, so I spent some time on my lunch breaks learning and when you weren't around... you know, when you were out with Angela, shopping and stuff."

I felt kind of stupid when Jacob explained it to me. I mean, it wasn't like we were constantly together – maybe when we were younger, but not so much now – and of course I had only just finished school, so Jacob had plenty of time to learn without me being around.

I nodded in agreement at Jacob's explanation while silently berating myself for being so stupid.

We all continued to chat around the fire, and at some point, Seth had arrived with some leftover food that Sue had sent down for us to finish. We all happily tucked into barbecued chicken wings, potato salad, rice, and potato chips. There was so much food I suspected that Sue had made far more than she needed for the day, knowing we would all stuff our faces at the bonfire.

The atmosphere was amazing. I loved how everyone joked and got along with each other. Even Paul was joining in and had managed to stop his arguing with Kim. I was feeling so much better next to Jacob, and we seemed to be almost back to how we used to be, apart from the fact that I may have snuggled into him a little more than I used to, gazed into his eyes for a bit longer, and tried discreetly pushing my arms in a little to accentuate my boobs, just a little bit!

I was most definitely flirting with Jacob, and thankfully, Angela didn't make any snide comments about it. In fact, she seemed to be encouraging Quil and Embry to poke fun at me about my general clumsiness and ability to trip over dust. But I didn't mind at all since Jacob had thrown his arm around me and hugged me a few times to console me. I, of course, pretended to sob into his gorgeous chest while throwing my arms around his waist. I was in absolute heaven...

It was in the middle of one of these embraces that I felt Jacob tense suddenly, and pulling my head back to look up at him, I saw that he was looking over at the other side of the fire. Following his gaze, my heart sank when I spotted Sam, Emily, Edward and Leah, all sitting down on the bench opposite us.

Everyone welcomed them and shouted over some greetings, but I suddenly felt sick when I saw Jacob and Leah looking at each other, and I couldn't fail to notice the little wave Leah gave him, only him.

Jacob cleared his throat a little - no one else would have noticed how uncomfortable he was, but I did – and he still had a hold of me, but I pulled back from him a bit and turned towards Angela, trying my best to keep the stupid false grin on my face so Jacob wouldn't know that I'd seen what Leah did.

I looked at Angela helplessly and from the way she was looking at me, I could tell she had seen it too.

I bit my lip nervously; I really didn't want to get upset and lose it here, but I was struggling to keep the smile on my face.

Angela leaned in to me and took a hold of my hand.

"You can do this, B, stay strong..." she whispered.

I lifted my chin and gave Angela a big smile.

"Yeah, I can do this..." I whispered back at her, "He's mine, right?"


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Thanks as always to the wonderful jkane180 for being my beta! Again I hope you really enjoy this chapter and please let me know what you think. I really do appreciate all your reviews and feedback.

The characters belong to Stephanie Meyer... the story, as you know is inspired by Taylor's appearance in the NFL Lockout, Funny or Die skit.

xXx

I did my best to ignore Leah's presence and the sick, sinking feeling that had come over me again like a formidable wave of doom.

I noticed that Jacob seemed to have relaxed a little and was laughing and chatting with the group again. He gave the occasional tug on my arm or pat on my thigh, but I just couldn't enjoy it like I had a few minutes ago. I really needed to get a control on my emotions if I was going to make him mine.

I glanced in Leah's direction, and she appeared to be in a deep conversation with Edward. And I may have been mistaken, but I was sure that I saw her run her hand up his arm. Oh my God, if there was something going on between her and Jacob, what the hell was she playing at by cozying up to Edward like that? Was she trying to make Jacob jealous? What a bitch...

I needed to speak to Angela alone and let her know what I had seen. I caught her eye a few times and tried the head twitch thing - to indicate something was going on - but from her confused expression, I could tell that she didn't have a clue what I had seen.

"Let's take a quick walk. I need to tell you something!" I whispered urgently.

With an affirmative nod, she stood up, grabbed my hand, and pulled me up to join her.

"Come on, B, I need some girly talk time with my bestie." She flicked her hair back and winked at Embry while placing a seductive hand on Quil's shoulder. "We'll be back in a minute. Keep our spaces warm, boys."

For all of his bravado, I could almost see Quil's tongue lolling out the side of his mouth like a love sick puppy, and Embry looked like he'd momentarily stopped breathing.

I gave an apologetic smile to Jacob and rolled my eyes as I allowed Angela to drag my reluctant self – yeah, right – off for our 'girly talk.'

We walked a little along the beach, just far enough to be able to talk without being overheard, and sat on a piece of driftwood.

"Okay, so spill," Angela coaxed as we both looked back at the fire.

"I think she might be cheating on him, Ang!" I almost screamed at her.

She looked at me, frowning in confusion. I huffed in annoyance. How could she not know who I was talking about?

"Leah, cheating on Jacob... with Edward!" I clarified.

"Woah, there, Sherlock, we don't even know that Jake and Leah are dating... but anyway," she shook her head, "what makes you think she's cheating?"

"Well, she's sitting really close to Edward, and when I looked over, she was rubbing her hand up and down his arm and they were looking at each other... you know, all loved up." I may have exaggerated a little bit, but the more I thought about it, the more certain I was that it had happened like that.

"Okay..." Angela was looking at me, and I knew that I was going to hear her voice of reason. She could be such a joker and a flirt, but sometimes, she was just so sensible. It made me feel kind of dumb - not intentional on her part - but it just did.

"Look, B, if Jacob and Leah are dating, and we still have no evidence, so keep that in mind, Leah touching Ed's arm is no different than Jake hugging you, touching your arm, touching your thigh – yeah I saw that..." she added, raising her eyebrows, "...they could just be friends. Ed's working with Sam. Leah's Em's cousin. My bet is that Leah and Ed have been spending some time at the Uley's and become friends, maybe... they're even dating, and she's not with Jake at all!"

A sudden feeling of hope came over me. What if Angela was right?

"But we don't know anything at the moment, so you really need to calm down, stop over analyzing everything, and just enjoy being here with 'your man' and me..." she hugged me fondly, "…so let's get back to the boys... um, I mean the bonfire!" She winked at me.

We both took a slow walk back to the group when I suddenly stopped and scanned the bodies around the fire.

"He's gone!" I looked again, "Ergh! So has she..." I hissed as Angela started looking around too. "I knew it Ang. I told you, didn't I? And you saw the little wave she gave him... What the fuck did that mean?"

Yeah, I'd oh-so-briefly forgotten about that sly little wave Leah sent Jacob's way when she'd first arrived. I looked again, and sure enough, Jacob and Leah were nowhere to be seen. A nauseas feeling swept over me, and I felt like bursting into tears.

"They're over there..." Angela said quietly, pointing over towards the tree line.

As I looked, I could make out the silhouettes of Leah and Jacob, and although they were together, they didn't appear to be doing anything... romantic, thank god.

We couldn't hear what they were saying, but from what we could see, they appeared to be having quite a heated discussion.

My imagination started working overtime again. Were they breaking up? Had he found out she was cheating? Was he jealous? Was she jealous? Did she think he was cheating? My head was beginning to throb with all the crazy questions I had.

Angela took a hold of my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I have an idea, well, a plan... If it works, you'll get an opportunity to find out what's going on and maybe do something about it."

She started walking again and linked her arm around one of mine. "Come on, B, you don't want them to see us here, right? Let's get back to the others."

"What's your plan, Ang?" I asked solemnly.

"I can't tell you, otherwise you might give it away, or you might not go along with it... Just don't judge me or hate me, okay? But if it works, promise me you'll make the most of it!"

"Um, okay. I promise!" I replied, feeling a mixture of excitement and anxiety. I didn't have a clue what I was promising to do, but if meant getting Jacob, then I'd literally do anything.

As we approached the group, Embry made a move to sit back on the sand. He'd obviously taken advantage of the extra space on the log.

"Stay where you are, Embry. There's plenty of space here." Angela stepped over the log then nestled herself down on Quil's lap. "You don't mind if I make myself comfortable here, do you Quily?"

I didn't think I'd ever seen Quil speechless before, or blushing for that matter, but he certainly didn't hesitate in putting his arms around Angela's waist, effectively locking her in place.

"You can stay here as long as you want, baby," Quil said huskily.

It looked as though my suspicions about Angela liking Quil were correct. Although, this could also have been a part of her 'plan,' but I really had no idea what she had up her sleeve.

"Hey, Baby Bell, there's a seat with your name on it right here!" Paul had closed the gap again between us and was indicating his own lap. I knew that there was no way Paul Lahote would try to hit on me; I definitely was not his type. He liked his girls tall, confident, big boobed, and looking like they just stepped off of 'America's Next Top Model.' I didn't fit in to any of those categories, so I knew he was just playing games with me.

"Um, thanks for the kind offer, Paul, but I'm quite happy with this space right here." I patted the log where I was sitting.

"Ah, come on, baby, if you want something big and hard to sit on, I can accommodate you, easily!" he said smoothly as he slid a bit closer to me.

"She said no, man. Now move up; that's my seat," Jacob growled as he stood behind us.

Paul scooted back along the bench obediently. I couldn't help the little laugh that escaped me. After all, Paul was a bit older than Jacob, but he didn't argue with him and just moved along like Jacob had asked him to.

"Come on, Jake... I just wanted to make sure Baby Bell was comfy, that's all!" He shrugged then leaned forward to talk to me as Jacob stepped over the log and took his seat beside me. "Hey, Bella, no sitting on Jake's lap now, otherwise that would be favoritism, and it would break my heart." He dramatically placed his hand over his muscled chest.

"Oh, I'm sure you'd get over it, Paul, and find some other girl to take my place in no time," I replied sweetly.

"Ah, that's true sweetheart, but if you change your mind, my co... er... lap is always available if you want it." He smirked at me then sat back to join in the conversation on the other side of him while Jacob shook his head.

"He wasn't bothering you too much, was he, Bells?" Jacob asked me, looking concerned.

"No, Jake. Of course not. You know Paul. He's just always trying to embarrass me, but I'm getting used to his little games..." I quickly glanced across the other side of the fire and saw Leah sitting back down. "I'm fine... really!" I said enthusiastically, turning back towards Jacob and putting a big smile on my face. Although, on the inside, I was sure my heart was going to break much faster than Paul's ever would.

Everyone carried on talking, eating, and drinking around the fire. Jared and Seth started playing a few tunes on their guitars, and some of the group started singing and dancing along.

I tried to enjoy myself and found that, provided I didn't pay any attention to what Leah was doing, I could pretty much make the most of a good evening. Angela and Quil were looking very cozy together, and it was kind of sweet. They were well suited, and if anyone could handle Angela, it was Quil, and vice versa. Embry had brought over some beer, and although I wasn't a fan, after having a couple of bottles - with the full support and encouragement of Angela - I found that I was really able to unwind and enjoy myself.

After about an hour of songs and dancing, which included a nearly naked Paul doing the limbo and some other very impressive dance moves, people started disappearing and heading home. We were all pretty tired from the day's events, so it wasn't surprising for people to start leaving when they did. However, Angela did manage to surprise when she told me that she wouldn't be sleeping over with me after all, since Quil had invited her to stay at his place.

"You don't mind do you, B? Don't hate me, right? You know me and Quil have had this little thing going on for a while... and well..." she looked at me pleadingly, "please say you don't mind."

"But…!" I was so shocked, "…all your stuff is at my place. You're supposed to be staying with me..." I couldn't believe she'd do this to me. "You drove here, Ang... Shit, how am I supposed to get home, uh?" Although the area was safe, I really didn't fancy walking home alone, and I couldn't even take her car, since I'd been drinking - just great!

"Jake will take you. Right, Jake?" she called over to Jacob, who'd been talking to Embry.

"What?" He didn't appear to have a clue what had been going on, but realization was beginning to dawn on me.

"I'm staying at Quil's tonight. Only, I was supposed to be staying with B, and I gave her a ride here. So could you either walk her home or give her a ride back? You can take my car!" She smiled sweetly while I glared at her.

"Jake, you don't have to. Seriously, I'll just walk back by myself."

"Don't be stupid, Bells!" Jacob put his arm around me. "No problem, Ang. I've had a couple of beers though, so we'll leave the car here and walk. That okay with you, honey?" All I could do was gaze up at him and smile while my insides melted into a pile of loved up mush. He'd called me honey all the time, and maybe it was the beer, but it had never had this effect on me before.

"Um... Are you okay to walk, Bells?" Jacob was looking at me a little concerned, but I didn't feel drunk, just a bit tipsy, and I was just recovering from him calling me honey and having his arm wrapped around me. Suddenly, Angela's words came back to me. She'd told me to make the most of it, right?

"I'm sure I'll be fine Jake. You just might have to hold me a little as we walk back, if that's okay with you?" I gently held onto his arm and gazed up at him again, hoping that my eyes still looked smoky and sexy, not bloodshot and glassy from drinking.

A sudden wave of panic went through me as I turned and whispered to Angela, "How do I look? Are my eyes okay? How's my hair?" She gave a quiet giggle as Quil frowned in confusion. "B, you look fucking gorgeous! Now go get him!"

I threw my arms around her neck and hugged her tight. "Thank you so fucking much... but you do like Quil, right? You're not just doing this for me?" I whispered.

Thankfully, Jacob, Quil and Embry were having a discussion over our heads - something about girls and alcohol equals emotional public displays of affection - so they didn't pick up on what we were saying. Although I thought I heard Embry mentioning that maybe two of them would get lucky tonight. But Angela was whispering back at me. "Awww B, he drives me nuts, but he's so fucking cute, and his body... yeah, I really do like him, and I think we should both make the most of this, okay?"

"Okay… I fucking love you, Ang!" I said a little louder than I had anticipated.

"Love you too, B!" Angela replied, hugging me tight.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it... you love each other, but us guys are feeling a little left out of the love fest!" Quil interrupted, "I think it's time you got the Boss's daughter home, Jake!"

"Yeah, come on, Bells, let's get you home, honey."

Jacob helped me stand, and after saying our goodbyes – I avoided looking in Leah's direction completely – we started a slow walk back to Swan Farm with our arms clumsily draped around each other.

Jacob still seemed concerned about me as he asked me a few more times whether I was okay, warm enough, and was I still all right to walk home. In truth, I was just so happy to spend some proper alone time with him. I'm sure he thought the beer I'd had was affecting me more than it actually was, but I had to admit I was feeling a little more confident than usual.

"I can't believe Ang would do that! She was supposed to be having a sleepover with me!" I complained as we walked. "I mean, what's she going to do at Quil's anyway?" I asked innocently, looking up at Jacob from under my lashes.

"Um... I'm pretty sure they won't be giving each other makeovers." Jacob chuckled. "But Embry will be there to make sure they behave themselves... kind of."

"Really…? Embry's staying there too? Oh my god, do you think Ang will be okay?" I asked, concerned. I knew both Quil and Embry were good guys, but for Angela to be staying the night with both of them, well...

Jacob laughed a little louder. "Ah, come on Bells, you know Ang! I'd be more concerned about the guys..." He shook his head.

"She's not that bad, Jake!" I rolled my eyes. Angela was my friend, and although I was sure she was going to get something out of tonight's events, she was also doing this for me. So I didn't really want Jacob bashing my friend too much.

"Bells, seriously? The girl is a man eater!"

"Um hum, and I guess you would know about that, right?" Oh shit! It was out before I could stop myself.

Jacob faltered for a second or two then continued walking. "Um... What do you mean?" he asked. He wasn't laughing now, or looking at me either.

"Jake... Come on, don't pretend you don't know." I was watching his face, but he was just looking ahead now.

"So she told you, uh?" he said, still avoiding looking at me.

"Yeah, she did."

"She wasn't supposed to say anything." He almost whispered.

"She didn't mean to. She let it slip when we..." I waved my free hand back and forth in the space between us, "...had that fight."

"Oh..."

Yeah, oh. Jacob seemed to clam up, and I realized he wasn't going to elaborate for me. Although this wasn't the direction I particularly wanted the discussion to be going in, I thought it best to just try and get it out in the open. So I tentatively asked him about it.

"So why'd it happen? Do you like her, Jake?" I knew Angela had said they didn't go very far, but I needed to know right now if he liked her in that way.

"No, Bells! I mean... I like her as your friend, and honestly, she's... you know, kind of..." He seemed uncomfortable, but I really wanted to know what he thought and why it happened.

"Kind of...?" I coaxed.

"Well, she's pretty and kind of...hot, you know."

"Oh..." Angela was hot, of course I knew that, but to hear Jacob say it kind of hurt. "Well, yeah, she's really beautiful," I agreed quietly. "So is that why you made out with her, because she was hot?"

"No, not really... I mean... Yeah, she's hot, but I don't like her in that way." Jacob let out a shaky breath. "I don't know, Bells. She's not the kind of girl I'd usually go for, so it was a bit of a shock to me that it happened too." Jacob suddenly stopped and turned me gently to face him. "Look I'll be completely honest, okay? I think I was feeling kind of mad that day. You were out with Emmett, and I missed you... I guess I was jealous. I mean... we were so tight, as friends, and then Emmett came along, and suddenly, you were off doing things with him, and I didn't like it... I saw our friendship changing. Ang turned up. She'd had an argument with her mom and was feeling all mad and lonely... We started talking. She was angry, I was angry, and... Shit, Bells, I honestly can't say who moved first, but it just happened... But I stopped it... I'm so sorry."

"Wow Jake! It sounds a lot like that hot, angry sex that you hear about!" I tried to joke and laugh, hoping that I'd disguised the sob that was stuck in the middle of my throat.

"Hey, no! We didn't have sex, Bells... Did Ang say we did? Shit... We didn't, I swear! We just kissed a bit..."

"And touched!" I reminded him, and there it was: the sob escaped, and before I knew it my cheeks were wet with tears.

"Awww, shit, honey... come on, don't cry, Bells. Fuck... please don't cry, sweetheart." Jacob pulled me towards him and held me so tight. "I'm so, so sorry, honey." Jacob's shirt was getting damp as I leaned into his chest. His arms were around me so tight, one hand stroking my bare back and the other running through my hair.

"I'm okay, Jake. I'm just upset that my two best friends made out and then kept it from me... I guess the beer doesn't help either, right?" I mumbled into his chest.

"Oh, honey... I wanted to tell you, really, but... I guess... I don't know. I fucked up, didn't I?"

Jacob pulled me away from his chest and brushed his fingers against my wet cheeks, wiping the tears away.

"Bells, honey, I really am so fucking sorry... Please forgive me." He was holding my head gently in both his hands. "I swear I never meant to hurt you, and I'll never hurt you again." He looked so sincere, concerned, and so gorgeous. How could I not forgive him? I gave him a weak smile and nodded my head.

"Oh, Jake, I'm just being a stupid, over emotional, wasted female. There's nothing to forgive. But, no more secrets, okay?"

"Deal!" he said, relieved.

Then I looked down at his white shirt and gasped in horror.

"Oh shit! I got mascara all over your shirt." I put my hand on the mess on his shirt.

"Hey, don't worry about it. It'll come out in the wash." He chuckled.

Then it dawned on me that I must have looked a complete mess, and I hid my face in my hands.

"Oh my god, I must look like something out of a horror movie... Don't look at me!" I laughed as I tried to rub away the smudges that I knew must have been under my eyes.

"Hey, Bells, don't hide from me... You're as beautiful as always." He gently tugged my hands away from my face and bent down slightly to look straight into my eyes. My heart raced like crazy as our eyes locked, and he slowly and hesitantly moved closer to me.

I shut my eyes as I anticipated the feel of his lips on mine. I felt his hot breath on my face as he came nearer, and then it happened. His warm, full, lips, brushed gently and sensuously against my... forehead.

"Come on honey, I need to get you home," he chuckled.

"Um, yeah. Sure." I opened my eyes, and we started walking again, arms draped around each other, just like before.

We continued walking quietly, and Jacob asked if I was tired. I wasn't lying when I told him that I was. I'd been up early for the open day, had worked on the stall, and overall, the day had been an emotional rollercoaster for me – the tractor ride, Jacob's horse riding, then all the Leah drama, and now this mini breakdown. Hell, no wonder I felt tired. And having a couple of beers certainly didn't help either.

We were almost at the farm and had walked the rest of the way in silence. I was just happy to have Jacob's arms around me, even though I was still a bit pissed that he hadn't kissed me. He said I was beautiful, but not hot like, Angela, right? Maybe he just wasn't attracted to me after all. And what about Leah? I hadn't found out anything about what was going on between them. Of course, if he was seeing her, he wouldn't want to kiss me, would he? Jacob was just too nice a guy to cheat on anyone. Oh shit, my head was really beginning to hurt again as we walked up the drive towards the house.

We approached the porch steps, and Jacob took hold of my hand.

"I'm so sorry, Bells, if I ruined your evening... You know I'd never hurt you, right?"

"Yeah, I know. I was just being a stupid, whiny bitch. You're free to make out with whoever you want... It's nothing to do with me." I put my arms around him and hugged him tight, but I could literally hear my heart breaking. "Thanks for walking me home, Jake... you do know you're my best, best friend, don't you?"

Jacob was laughing again and hugged me back. "Yeah, honey, and you're mine too."

We broke apart, and I started up the first step as Jacob backed away.

"I guess I'll see you... tomorrow or Monday then..." he said as he started walking away.

I stopped and watched him as he turned and began walking back down the drive. What was I doing? Was I really just going to stand here and watch him leave? Had I made the most of it, like Angela told me to? Hell no! Shit, I needed to do something...

"Hey, Jake... wait up!" I was down the steps and running towards him. "Stay!" I blurted it out like an order.

"What?" Jacob turned towards me, looking confused.

"Stay with me tonight." God, I sounded so desperate. "I was looking forward to having a sleepover, and, well... now Ang isn't staying. I just thought you might like to stay instead..." My enthusiasm dwindled; the more I explained, the dumber I sounded. But Jacob was smiling.

"You want me to stay with you... tonight... like a sleepover...?" He was slowly walking back towards me, still smiling, thank goodness.

"Well, only if you want to... I thought it'd be fun. Like when we were kids."

"Okay... but you know Charlie won't want us in the same room, right? If I'm in the spare room or on the couch... it kind of defeats the object of a sleepover, doesn't it?"

"Are you mocking me Jacob Black?" I shoved him gently as he was now in front of me. "Look, if you don't want to stay with me, just say so!"

"Hey... I do! I just don't want to be shot by my boss..." He laughed.

He was right, of course. My dad wouldn't want Jacob, and me, to share a room. No matter how much he liked Jacob, he was still a protective father with a shotgun.

"Okay, I have an idea. Let's camp in the barn!" I suggested and Jacob just stared at me wide-eyed. "Oh my god, Jake, it'll be just like when we were kids," I said excitedly.

"You're serious, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. Come on, I have a couple of blankets in my truck." I grabbed his hand before he had a chance to protest and headed over to my truck.

"I can't believe we're doing this, Bells." He shook his head, but he also had a huge grin on his face.

"It'll be fun, Jake." I squealed as I opened the truck, which I kept unlocked to Jacob's dismay, and grabbed the heavy blankets I always kept in there.

"You do remember how uncomfortable hay is to sleep on, don't you, Bells?" he asked as I shoved the blankets in his open arms.

I suddenly felt a lot more confident and light-hearted than I had over the last week or so, and although I didn't know where tonight would lead, Jacob was going to spend the whole night with me. And as I had promised Angela, I was definitely going to make the most of it.

"Oh, I remember, Jake, but I was planning on using you as my pillow!" I winked at him.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N I'm so sorry yet again for the long delay in updates. Life has just been so crazy and that's the only excuse I can give. My Beta the amazing jkane180 has also been incredibly busy. I have therefore made the decision to update with this unbeta'd chapter. As soon has the beta'd version is ready, I will replace it. Therefore please accept my apologies for any errors!

I really hope you enjoy this and would love to know what you think, so please leave me some feedback.

All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, but you know that, right?

xXx

As we walked towards the small barn, I felt like I was floating on air. The night sky was clear, and the moon, along with thousands of beautiful stars, were looking down on us. I couldn't stop smiling. It seemed that tonight the moon was shining at its fullest and brightest, for me and Jacob.

As we approached the barn door, Jacob rested his hand on the small of my back. "Did I actually agree to this...?" he asked me, chuckling.

"Oh come on, Jake, where's your sense of adventure? You used to enjoy roughing it when we were kids?"

"Yeah... When were kids!" he huffed.

I opened the barn door and was pleased to see that some moon light still filtered through the building. We could just make out the different shapes around us. I grabbed a couple of lamps that were hanging by the door and switched them on.

Charlie had kept the outbuildings in a good condition and he was always updating or modernizing things. He'd recently replaced parts of the roofs on both barns with a strong, clear, plastic type material, which allowed all the natural light to flood into the buildings, day or night.

As we looked up, we could still see the moon shining above us.

"Wow, those roof panels really do work! I've only seen them in the day." Jacob looked up with a certain amount of smugness, as it was actually one of his ideas to try them.

Charlie was planning on getting some solar panels fitted next. Again it had been Jacob who'd suggested that solar panels might generate enough energy to help with the running cost of the farm.

We stood still for a few seconds just looking at the huge space around us. It always amazed me how big the barns were. We referred to this one as the small barn, but it was still very large, just a bit smaller than the other one. The main farm machinery, including the tractor, was kept in the big barn and here we just kept the smaller tools, grain and most of the hay.

There was a large workshop at one end, and at the other, a wash area, which included a couple of shower cubicles, a basin, and a toilet. This barn was right next to the stables, so it was really convenient to have facilities for the owners when they came to visit their horses. Also, Charlie thought it would be a good idea to have them, knowing how muddy it could get around here. He liked the idea of everyone being able to clean up if they wanted to, before they came into the house or went home. Particularly if it had been a really hot, busy or dirty day. There was a small cupboard that we kept stocked with a good supply of fresh towels and toiletries. In fact, sleeping in the barn was far better than camping in a tent as we had more or less everything we needed.

As I watched Jacob flattening out some hay and preparing what would be our bed for the night, I placed the lamps down on either side and remembered back to the times we used to sleep here, when we were younger. We would pack some food for a midnight feast and try to stay up all night. It rarely happened though. We were often so exhausted from swimming, playing games or working, that we'd usually end up crashing way before midnight. We'd end up eating what we'd packed as breakfast instead.

As Jacob laid one of the blankets over our bed of hay, he smacked his head dramatically. "Bells, we forgot the food!" he laughed. We must have been thinking along the same lines, but then again, Jacob often thought about food.

"I can sneak into the house and grab something, if you're hungry?" I offered.

"Bells, I was joking, I'm good." He laughed, shaking his head.

"Oh. It's not like you to joke about food..." I said, settling myself down on the blanket as Jacob stood watching me. "...it's a very serious business, right?" I laid down, and tried to adjust my dress, but was struggling to get comfortable. The strapless bodice was digging in a little under my arms, and I tried to ease it slightly with my fingers.

"You look like you're struggling there." Jacob chuckled, as I continued to tug at the bodice.

"You think?" I huffed. "It's no good. I can't sleep in this dress. I'm gonna have to take it off. Could you unzip me please, Jake?"

"Err... Um..." I was already up on my feet, with my back turned towards him with my hair pulled over one shoulder, as Jacob stuttered.

I had no idea what was going to happen when Jacob had walked me home. I had no plan, and certainly hadn't intended to try to seduce him. I mean, that was the kind of thing that Angela knew about. I wouldn't have a clue where to start or even how to seduce him, but the fact that my dress was just too damn uncomfortable to lay down in, kind of kick-started the whole seduction process. I knew my art of seduction must have left a lot to be desired, but I was encouraged to see that it seemed to be having some kind of affect on Jacob. He was still rooted to the spot but the stupid grin had disappeared and his mouth was now hanging open.

My heart began hammering in my chest, but I had to play this cool, act completely innocent. Well, actually this was innocent. I was just being practical, right? And besides, Jacob had seen me plenty of times in a bathing suit when we went swimming in the creek or at the beach. So what difference did a strapless, black, lace bra and panties make? To be truthful, I'd forgotten I had the sexy set on, until now. Suddenly heat invaded my cheeks as I remembered what underwear I was wearing. But there was no way I was backing out now.

I looked over my shoulder at Jacob, trying to look sultry. "Jake... could you?"

"Um... yeah. Sure..." he said shakily.

He took a step closer to me and I felt his fingers brush gently against my skin as he fiddled with the little fastener at the top of the zip. I watched him over my shoulder, and had to stifle a giggle at the look of sheer concentration on his face. He was biting his lower lip and frowning as he started to gently tug the zipper down, over my bra, past the small of my back and then stopping at the curve of my ass. I suddenly felt little goose bumps cover my body, and it wasn't from the chill. I certainly couldn't deny the other sensation that started as a little innocent flutter in the pit of my stomach, but was slowly escalating to a warm, tingling, throbbing sensation, as it gradually moved lower and lower.

"There... done!" Jacob let out a small breath as I turned to face him.

I made sure to hold the dress in place, covering myself. I didn't want to be so obvious as to let the dress just drop. If I was going to do this, I wanted to do it properly. So I decided to be a complete slut and peel the dress off slowly in front of him, but trying to remain as innocent as possible, of course.

"Phew! That's better, I can breathe again." I joked. "I didn't realize how tight this thing was. I'd rather wear my old t-shirts and tank tops any day!" I laughed, as I kicked off my shoes and slowly eased the dress down past my boobs, past my waist and over my hips. I hadn't looked up at Jacob. I just kept my eyes fixed on the dress. I was so scared that if I looked at him while I was undressing, he'd somehow figure out what I was up to. So I kept my head down.

Jacob didn't say a thing, and I didn't know if he was actually watching me. He could have been looking anywhere and everywhere except at me. Although I did hear his breathing hitch slightly, so I figured he'd seen something, and just hoped he liked it.

Once the dress was past my hips, I let go of it with one hand, and holding on to Jacob's arm for support with my free hand, I stepped out of the material. It was then that I chanced a quick look at him, as I quickly folded the dress and dropped it on the floor. I figured Jacob did like what he saw. In the soft glow of the lamp light, I could see that his cheeks were a little red. He was stood rigid, mouth still hanging open and his gaze was fixed on my chest.

When he lifted his eyes and they locked onto mine, they were darker than I'd ever seen them before, almost completely black, and hungry.

"Bells..." His voice was kind of gravely, and I noticed him swallow thickly. "Honey... um... are you gonna sleep in your underwear?"

He was looking at my face now and I gave him my sweetest smile. "I'll wear my panties, but I can't wear this thing... the wire is so uncomfortable. Honestly, Jake, you guys don't know how lucky you are that you don't have to wear these things" I complained as I turned and faced away from him. Putting my hands behind my back, I quickly unfastened my bra. Again I hadn't planned it, but seriously there was no way I could sleep wearing it; so I took it off. Yes, I was being a complete slut and Angela would be so proud of me.

I turned back to him holding the bra in place. I was tempted to do some sexy kind of burlesque move and whip it away with one hand, while still keeping myself covered with the other, but knowing my clumsiness it was highly possible that I'd take his eye out or something. So I thought better of it.

"If you want to turn around Jake, I'll get under the blanket first, okay?" I suggested, oh so innocently, and stood waiting for him to turn his back to me.

"Are you serious...? Honey... seriously? You can't... Fuck, Bells...!" Jacob was struggling to speak. I stood absolutely still watching him run his hands through his hair.

He was flustered and I wondered if I'd pushed him too far. The bra was uncomfortable and I wouldn't have been able to sleep in it, so it's not like I purposely took it off to entice him, but I guess I hadn't even thought this through, and more importantly I didn't have any idea how far I was willing to go with Jacob tonight.

Suddenly seeing him so edgy, my confidence started to slowly evaporate.  
>It could all end in disaster. If Jacob decided to change his mind and go home now, I would be left devastated by the ultimate rejection.<p>

Jacob put his hands in his pockets and I thought I saw him adjusting himself discreetly.

"Jake... You know I trust you completely. It'll be fine. We don't even have to talk... We'll just go straight to sleep, okay?" Then I saw an opening, an opportunity, and I took it, even though I was dreading the outcome.

"Oh my god, Jake I didn't think. You're seeing someone aren't you? Of course you wouldn't want to spend the night with me, like this... no matter how innocent it is! Shit, I'm so stupid. I'm so sorry, Jake" I turned around and bent over to pick up my dress, still holding onto my bra and making sure Jacob got a good view of my ass.

"What? No, honey... hold on!" Jacob gently touched my arm and I stood back up, facing him, now holding my dress across my chest. "I'm single Bells... I'm not seeing anyone and haven't for... well, quite a while."

As he spoke, he ran his hand up and down my arm reassuringly, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Well, at least that meant he definitely wasn't seeing Leah.

"Look, Bells, I really need to know what's going on. We need to talk honey... but..." he started unbuttoning his shirt. "...first you need to get something on, because... Shit..." Jacob quickly took his shirt off and placed it around my shoulders. "...I can't fucking think straight with you... like that" he growled.

I knew exactly what Jacob meant, as I drank in every muscled ridge of his naked lean torso. My eyes wandered down to the belt on his jeans and the prominent bulge just below it and I was struck dumb. I couldn't help but just stare at this gorgeous guy in front of me.

Without thinking I quickly pulled Jacob's shirt around me and put my arms though the sleeves, accidentally dropping my dress and bra in the process. With a ravenous look, Jacob's eyes travelled over my body, from head to toe. I just stood there, wearing his unbuttoned shirt, and black lace panties.

"Holy... Shit, Bells! You seriously need to do the shirt up. I'd help, but..." Jacob started undoing his belt as he spoke. "...I really don't trust myself at the moment!" He tugged open the buckle and started unbuttoning his pants, while I did up the shirt as quickly as possible.

"Jake, what are you doing...?" Oh god, my heart skipped a beat as Jacob quickly and roughly pushed his jeans down his legs, and a sudden wave of excitement and fear swept over me.

"I'm getting ready for bed... What do you think I'm doing?" he asked smugly and he suddenly seemed a lot more confident than he did a few minutes ago.

This was a new side to Jacob I hadn't seen before. He was usually so sweet and lovely. Sure I knew he could be a bit cocky sometimes, but this was something else. Maybe it was a bit conceited of me, but I wondered if it was me, and what I had done that had brought this side of Jacob to the surface. I guess it also could have been the drinks that he'd had earlier too. Whatever it was, he made me a little nervous, very excited and it was incredibly sexy.

"Are you... sleeping in just your underwear...?" I asked this time, as Jacob stood up straight and stepped out of his jeans. I tried to avoid looking at him, but couldn't help myself. He was huge in every possible way, and I could see the evidence sticking out of the waistband of his tight black boxer briefs.

"Yep! My jeans are too uncomfortable to sleep in; a bit like your dress and bra. You don't mind do you Bells?" he stood with his arms folded across his chest, smirking, and did nothing to hide what was peeping at me from his boxers.

"Um..." Now it was me who couldn't speak properly or think straight.

"Don't look so worried, we're just gonna sleep, okay? And as for the state I'm in, well that would be your fault, honey!" He raised an accusing eyebrow at me, but he didn't appear to be embarrassed. In fact, he seemed to be looking pretty pleased with himself.

"_Really_?" As stupid as it sounded, it was a complete boost to my ego to hear Jacob confess that his aroused state was because of me. I couldn't hide the smile as I laid down on the make shift bed and Jacob joined me.

"Oh please! Don't pretend like you have no clue, Bells. You knew exactly what you were doing with that sexy little striptease you just did." Jacob laid back and put his arms behind his head. "In fact, I think you started it when you had your hand on my thigh this afternoon, on the tractor!" He grinned and gave me a sideways glance.

I propped myself up on my elbow looking at him aghast. "What? We went over a fucking bump Jake. If I didn't grab hold of you, I could have fallen off the damn thing! It wasn't intentional."

"Uh huh. Just like you leaning over like that now, in my shirt… which you haven't buttoned up properly by the way... flashing me, is unintentional?"

I looked down and quickly fumbled with the shirt, which was gaping wide open.

"Jake, honestly... I didn't mean to do any of this stuff. Well, not really. Come on, you know me I can't be sexy, or... or... seductive. Ang is the hot, sexy one... you said it yourself, remember?" I flopped down on my back, suddenly feeling silly and childish as I remembered what he had said about Angela. How could I think I was sexy?

"I didn't say that about Ang. Yeah I said she was kind of hot... but I didn't mean like..." He trailed off for a second. "Look Bells, I don't want to talk about Ang, Okay?" He leaned on his side and moved closer to me. "Honey, do you seriously not know how... how... sexy, hot, and seductive... shit." He stammered and ran his hand through his hair. "Bells, do you seriously not know what you do...? What you do to me? Not just tonight, but every fucking day!"

He put his arm around my waist and pulled me towards him. I could feel him against me, all of him. His arousal was thick and hard and pressed against my outer thigh. Jacob groaned and pushed against me when I accidentally moved my leg, and, oh my god, he sounded so sexy.

"This is all for you Bells." He whispered quietly into my shoulder, as he pushed himself up against me again.

I slowly let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding. "But you never tried anything. You've never tried to kiss me... You even stopped holding my hand and hugging me. I thought you... weren't attracted to me... at all. I thought you thought I was just one of the boys. I thought..."

"Bells..." His hot breath was on my neck, "...you think too much..." he murmured against my ear, and moved his hand down a little to rest on the waistband of my panties.

"Oh, Jake..." I moaned, as he bit my neck softly. Then he kissed the same spot, over and over.

I turned on my side to face him, all too aware of our closed proximity and that his hard length was now pressed against my stomach. I stroked his cheek softly. "Jake, what are we doing?" I asked, eyes fixed on his full lips and moving my body ever closer.

I wanted to kiss him: I wanted to hear him moan again. I needed more proof of how much I turned him on, and fuck... I had to touch him.

I rested my hand on his chest, and made little circular patterns as I slowly moved my fingers down towards his abs, carefully following each muscled ridge, watching him closely as his breathing sped up

"I'm not sure honey, all I know is that I want you... I've always fucking wanted you. But I didn't want to risk losing you, as a friend." He replied huskily.

"That would never happen, Jake. We'd always be friends." I reassured him, but I knew exactly what he meant. That was the whole reason why I hadn't made a move sooner too.

My fingers continued their descent and I stroked the soft hair just below his naval, as he toyed with the top of my panties, pulling them away from my skin and running his fingers along the inside edge. We were teasing each other and it was sweet torture.

"If it didn't work out, it could have ruined what we... what we... had... as friends!" He stammered, as my fingers edged just under the waist band of his boxers and my thumb gently grazed the tip of his manhood. "Oh, fuck, Bells..." he whispered, closing his eyes with a groan as my thumb swiped over the top of his cock again.

Suddenly my confidence was back. Jacob really did want me and holy shit, I wanted him.

"What makes it different now?" I asked softly, as I ran my fingers up and down his length. He felt so good; firm, but soft, the perfect contradiction.

Jacob shuddered and groaned as I cupped his balls gently. I wasn't very experienced but I had some idea of what I was doing and Jacob certainly seemed to be enjoying it.

I ran my tongue along his bottom lip, and whispered against his mouth urging him to answer me. "Why now, Jake?"

Then he quickly captured my lips and gently brushed his tongue slowly against mine.

"Because I can't wait any longer..." he murmured as his kiss grew more demanding.

I wrapped my fingers firmly around his length and he bucked his hips against my hand. "Holy fuck, Bells... That feels so good."

We were both breathing heavily as we kissed. I stroked his cock and touched his balls softly, while I pushed my body against his. I wanted to feel him against me. I wanted him to touch me... all over.

Suddenly Jacob pulled away from me, and I wondered if I'd done something wrong, but was reassured when he flipped me onto my back. Hovering above me, his mouth came crashing down on mine, hard, passionate and needy. Our tongues had stopped there tender dance and were now fighting each other.

I gasped into his mouth as I felt one hand grip my ass, under my panties. Oh so close, but not quite where I wanted it to be. His other hand was struggling with the buttons on my shirt.

Somehow I had let go of him, and I attempted to get my hand back to where it was, to touch him again, but I instantly gave up trying when Jacob released my mouth and looked down at my chest. He'd managed to get the buttons undone and swept the shirt aside as he glanced up at me and whispered, with a cocky smile. "These babies have been teasing me all night!"

In the next breath his mouth descended on my breast, kissing each one lovingly, as my hands found his hair. I began grinding myself against him as his tongue gently teased each nipple.

"Oh, Jake..." I whimpered and pulled his hair, as he took one of my buds between his teeth and bit it gently, while pinching the other softly with his fingers.

I could feel him rubbing himself against me and the friction felt amazing. I lifted my ass slightly and pushed myself against him. I wanted more. Jacob growled into my chest as he leaned to his side slightly. He swiftly moved his hand from my ass and gently ran his fingers over my panties.

"Is this okay, Bells? Tell me if you want me to stop..." He murmured, as his fingers found their way under my clothing and brushed against my sensitive folds.

"Don't stop, Jake... Please don't stop..." I begged him breathlessly.

I was so wet... and just so turned on, that when Jacob found my precious spot and ran his fingers over and over it, I couldn't help crying out. "Oh my god, Jake... Oh fuck... I want you... Oh, please..."

His fingers continued to work on me, stroking and daring to enter, but stopping. He was teasing and torturing me.

Each stroke was like a small electrical charge. I moved myself wantonly against his hand as my pleasure continued to build. "I want you to fuck me, Jake... please... I need you now!" I pleaded as I felt his mouth continue its passionate assault on my breast, my neck and mouth.

"Is that good, Bells...? Does that feel good honey...?" He moaned into my skin as his fingers moved faster against my core.

"Oh fuck... yes! It feels so fucking good, Jake... Oh, please don't stop!"

"Can you see what you do me...? You're so fucking sexy Bells... You know... I'm not gonna keep my hands off you now! You know that honey, don't you...?"

"Don't you ever... stop touching me...!" I could hardly speak, my breathing was coming hard and fast as his fingers increased their pace.

"I want you to feel good, Bells... I want you to come for me... You feel so fucking good..." He was growling in my ear and I'd never heard him talk like this before. It was doing amazing things to me, along with his tongue and his fingers. "...so fucking good. Such a hot, wet, little pussy... I know you're close baby... just let go, honey... Come for me Bells!"

A mixture of these incredible sensations and hearing Jacob speak like that, my release came suddenly. My whole body shuddered as I pulled Jacob's hair and kissed him hard, while the aftershocks rocked through me. I pulsed against his fingers as they slowly coaxed me down from my orgasm.

I focused on Jacob's face and he kissed me gently on the lips, then pulled back smiling.

"That was amazing." I whispered, while trying to catch my breath. I ran my fingers down the side of his face, along his jaw, then slowly over his beautiful lips.

He rubbed his nose against mine. "You were amazing. So damn sexy!"

I moved slightly and Jacob groaned quietly and I could still feel his erection pressing against me.

I reached down between us and pulled my panties down my legs.

"Bells...?"

Taking them off fully, I began to tug at Jacob's boxers, in an attempt to remove them, but his hand covered mine and he pulled them back up.

"Jake... I want you. We didn't... do it, and you're still..."

"Bells... What we did was amazing, fantastic... But honey, I'm not going to go all the way with you tonight."

"Why? I want you, and from what just happened, I'm pretty damn sure you want me too. So, why not? If its protection you're worried about, I'm on birth control and I'm clean, I haven't been with anyone..." He interrupted me before I could go further.

"Bells, I didn't expect that to happen and really, I should have had more self control. But, honey, we've both been drinking..."

"Jake, I'm not drunk... I know exactly what I'm doing, I know what I want... and I want you... to make love to me!" I sat up and faced him. I didn't care that his shirt was falling off my shoulders, or that I'd removed my panties.

Jacob sat up to join me and pulled the shirt closed. "Bells believe me... I want nothing more than to make love to you..." He sighed and shook his head, "you know what, forget the pleasantries, right now with you sat there like that, I seriously just want to fuck you senseless!"

I couldn't help smiling and bit my lip. Jacob talking dirty was a whole new thing for me and I could see it easily becoming an addiction. I leaned forward, purposely letting the shirt fall open again, and reached out to stroke his gorgeous manhood.

"Then go ahead, Jake... Fuck me all you want..." I drawled, feeling completely slutty.

Jacob chuckled but stopped my hand from touching him. With a raised eyebrow and a very sexy smirk, he pulled the shirt together again, but made sure that he brushed my boobs as he did so.

"As I said, honey... We've both been drinking." He put his hand up to stop any protest, "and I want your first time with me to be a completely unclouded decision. Yes, I know you're not drunk, but honey, what if you regret it tomorrow? What we just did was fucking amazing, but I want to do things properly with you." He reached out and took my hand. "I want us to go on a date. I want us to be a real couple, Bells. Not just friends who fuck. I have way too much respect for you and our friendship for that. And if it works out then I'm sure the physical side will progress... pretty quickly. Besides when we do make love, I want to be the only thing driving you crazy, not the beer!"

"Oh baby... I can assure you the beer had nothing to do with it." I leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

"Mh hum, so you're always that dirty, eh?" He asked, as he started doing up the shirt.

"I can be as dirty as you want, Jake." I kissed him again as he reached over to retrieve my panties.

Jacob swung the lace material around his finger, grinning. "You know Bells seeing you in my shirt all undone, sex hair all down and wild, and wearing these little black panties... Fuck girl... that has got to be one of the best things I've ever seen. That was one of my Bella fantasies right there." He laughed as he handed them to me.

"Bella, fantasies?" I asked as I pulled my underwear on.

"Err, yeah." After all we'd done tonight he actually looked embarrassed now.

"Tell me another one."

"No... Now come here, lay down and go to sleep."

"Awww come on, Jake, tell me... please." I begged as we both laid down and he wrapped his arms around me.

"Bells... sleep!" he said firmly.

"I will... if you tell me" I ran my lips along his jaw and loved the feel of his rough stubble.

"Promise...?" he sighed and I nodded my head in agreement.

"Okay... I can't believe I'm telling you this, but... you know the hat I gave you today," he pulled his head back and looked at me as I nodded. "Well... I want you to wear it..."

"When?" I asked curiously.

He raised a questioning eyebrow. "I want you to be my cowgirl. I want you to wear it, when you... ride me..." He answered roughly. I could still feel him hard against me and I felt a little guilty that Jacob hadn't had his release, but he seemed certain that nothing else would happen tonight.

"Oh..." I whispered "I'm sure I can do that, providing you do your dirty sex talk for me..." I mumbled as I kissed his neck and rubbed up against him.

Jacob gave a loud groan, "Okay, deal... But you really need to stop doing that honey... 'cause I'm trying really hard to be the good guy here, but, I'm not a fucking saint. Now go to sleep, otherwise..."

"Otherwise, what, Jake?" I asked innocently.

"Honey, I swear... You are so gonna get it! Not tonight..." he mumbled against my lips, "…but fuck... real soon. Now please stop torturing me and go to sleep." He leaned across to turn off the lamps and kissed me again gently.

"Sorry... I'll be a good girl now." I whispered, "Night, Jake."

"Goodnight, Bells"

We snuggled together and I started to doze. At some point, I was vaguely aware of Jacob moving, getting up and covering me with the blanket.

"Mmm... where're you going?" I murmured.

"To the bathroom, Bells… I need to take care of something. Just go to sleep honey." He whispered, kissing my forehead softly.

I'd definitely have to make it up to him. I thought, as I drifted off to sleep, smiling to myself.


	13. Chapter 13

AN: I'm so sorry for the delay in updates for all my stories. I really do know how frustrating it is when you are waiting for updates, and it takes months. I'm a reader too, so I really do understand! Thank you for all the reviews, faves and follows. I do intend to finish all my stories, but unfortunately I'm just not getting the time to devote to writing at the moment, but I will write and update as and when I can. This chapter has not been beta'd, so please forgive me for any errors you come across and it is smaller than usual for Summer, but rather than make you wait any longer, I figured I'd update what I have so far. As always your feedback is greatly appreciated! Thank you for reading.

All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

xXx

The light from the early morning sun shone through the clear roof panels, waking me from my blissful sleep - well hardly blissful really, laying on hay was damn uncomfortable. I could feel a heavy arm resting gently across my hip. Unable to keep the smile from my face, I turned to see Jacob awake and looking directly at me.

"Good morning, beautiful." He whispered as his eyes scanned my face.

"Good morning, handsome." I giggled in return.

He softly pulled me towards him, but I resisted and squirmed a little, suddenly aware that I most likely looked dreadful with smudged makeup and ratty hair.

"Hey, come here... you can't get away from me that easily you know!" he gently tugged me again.

"Jake, I have morning breath and look awful!" I mumbled, as I covered my mouth with my hand.

Jacob chuckled and took my hand away from my face.

"Do you know, the best thing for morning breath, other than brushing your teeth...?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, "...just kissing it out, my morning breath mixed with your's, they'd just cancel each other out." He said smiling sexily, but I couldn't help wrinkling my nose a little and letting out a small giggle.

"Unless you're having second thoughts about things?" He bit his lip as a worried frown crossed his brow.

I wriggled a little closer to him, and ran my hand along his jaw, relishing the scratchy feel of his morning scruff.

"No second thoughts from me..." I whispered.

"Me neither." he replied, as he caught my hand in his, and brushed his lips against my palm.

"So kissing it out, huh?" I asked, rubbing my body against his.

"Oh, yeah!" he replied grinning, then gently taking my face in his hands, he captured my lips with his.

I melted into his sensual warmth, not quite able to believe that Jacob and I were here together, like this.

Jacob groaned softly and gently pulled away, then rested his forehead to mine.

"You know I could spend the whole day just kissing and touching you, honey, but we need to get moving. Jasper will be here soon to feed the horses, not to mention what Charlie would do if he finds out we spent the night together in here."

I couldn't resist stroking my hand against his cheek again and feeling his unshaven skin against my fingers. I just couldn't seem to keep my hands off him.

"Mmm, I guess you're right, and I really need to check on Ang." I said, suddenly remembering that my best friend was supposed to have been staying with me last night. "I can't believe she stayed with Quil and Embry!" I shook my head, as Jacob threw back the blankets and made a move to stand.

"Oh my god..." I let out an embarrassing groan as I watched Jacob stand in front of me and reach down to pick up one of the blankets.

I couldn't help but stare as he quickly folded one, and then bent to pick-up and fold the other.

I saw him in his underwear last night, in the lamp light, but my god, seeing him now in the natural light of a new day set my pulse racing, and I felt that familiar throb between my legs.

He reached down to pull on his jeans and my eyes drank in every ounce of the tan skin in front of me.

Jacob looked at me while he buttoned up his jeans, and gave me a cocky grin.

"Enjoying the view, Bells?" he said winking at me.

My face flushed at being caught opening ogling him, but I couldn't hold back my admiration.

"Oh absolutely. It's the best thing I've ever seen."

"Is that so? Well, honey, it's just as well it all belongs to you. If you want it?"

I bit my lip and couldn't stop myself from grinning madly. "Without question, Jake, I most definitely want it. I want you."

Jacob laughed and held out his hand to help me up.

"Well, you'll have to wait to have me," Jake pulled me into him and nuzzled my neck, "'because If we don't move our asses pretty soon, there might not be much left of me to have. Your dad has a shotgun, remember?"

"Don't be silly. He'd wouldn't." I said as I wrapped my arms around his waist and nuzzled into his chest.

"Yeah, probably not, but although it'd be totally worth it, I don't really want to take the risk today. So get your sexy ass dressed."

Jacob gave me a quick peck on the lips as I peered up at him. He unwrapped my arms from his waist and swatted my butt as he bent down to pick up my dress.

"Ow" It didn't hurt at all, but I couldn't help letting out a little dramatic squeal. "What was that for?"

"Sorry honey! It was just there and I had the urge to either spank it or bite it... my hand was quicker." He winked again, grinning madly at me.

"Mmm, I didn't know you were kinky, Jacob Black!" I gasped in fake shock.

"Oh, honey, you ain't seen nothing yet!"

A sudden shiver ran through me leaving a tingling sensation all over. I certainly looked forward to having some more time alone with Jacob, and couldn't help wondering what else we'd get up to.

Once dressed, we made our way quietly towards the house in a tangle of arms and giggles. We just couldn't stop touching each other, and Jacob kept kissing my cheek, my ear, my neck, my shoulders, in fact any available piece of skin that was uncovered.

As we reached the steps to the porch Jacob grabbed me and pulled me to him whispering. "God I want you so bad, Bells. We need to go on that date, at least then I'll know I did things properly."

"Jake, date or no date, I know you're just wonderful, and amazing and always do things properly." I gushed, gazing up at him.

"I mean it, Bells. I care too damn much about you to fuck this up. Jeez, I've waited long enough... and I don't want to ruin anything. You're my best friend honey, and that will always be my top priority, regardless of what else happens between us."

"What do you mean, you waited long enough?" I asked, curious.

"Never mind for now. I'll explain when we go on our date. I'm going into Port Angeles with the guys, to look at cars and a couple of scrap yards later today... but how about we go out tomorrow evening. We could grab a bite to eat and maybe take a walk along the beach... get to know each other a bit better." He smiled and kissed my forehead again.

I couldn't help laughing, "Jake, I think we know each pretty well. We grew up together, remember."

"Yeah, honey, I know. But I was thinking we could get to know each other even better!" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

I could feel the heat invade my cheeks as I remembered what we had done last night. I guess I had certainly got to know Jacob a bit better in the barn, and I was honestly looking forward to a lot more.

"Anyway, you better get in before your dad wakes up and finds us out here together." Jacob inclined his head towards the front door.

"Yeah, I guess you're right... So tomorrow evening then?" I asked, entwining my fingers in his big strong hands.

"Yep, I'll text you later with the time." He brought my fingers to his mouth and ran his lips across my knuckles. "I just hope I can last that long without seeing or touching you." He whispered huskily against my ear.

Another shiver ran through my body as I tried to give a coherent response. "I'm sure you'll manage, Jake. You have before."

"Mmhm... but that was before... Now I know how good it feels and can't get enough." He mumbled as he kissed my ear and then moved to nibble on my neck, which of course was causing all sorts of sensations, in all parts of my body.

"Oh god, Jake... My dad, remember...?" I replied breathlessly and tried to search his mouth out with mine.

"Mmm... Yeah. I'm going... right..." He grabbed my ass possessively and pulled me tight against his body. I could feel the hard bulge in his jeans as he kissed me passionately, then he suddenly broke away. "Now..."

Backing away from me, he ran his hand through his hair and smirked sexily. My legs were like jelly, and I'm certain he knew that I was having trouble standing.

"Jacob Black, you are a tease!" I hissed at him.

"Ah, honey, there's plenty more where that came from... I just wanted to give you a little taster!" He winked and turned to walk down the drive. "I'll text you later, Bells." He called quietly over his shoulder.

I stood and watched him - although my eyes kept wandering to his backside - as he walked to the end of the drive. Then I quietly slipped into the house and up to my room.

Checking the clock beside my bed I saw that it was still early, 5:30am, so I quickly shrugged out of my dress and underwear and pulled on an old t-shirt and climbed into bed. I could still get a couple of hours sleep, I thought as I let my head sink into my soft pillow, relishing the comfort. Last night had been wonderful, but now I was relaxed in my own bed, it only made me realise how uncomfortable I had been sleeping in the barn. Then my mind began to wander and I couldn't help thinking how nice it would be to curl up with Jacob in a real bed. Hell, it would be great to do a whole lot of things with Jacob in a real bed! I could feel the heat in my cheeks and giggled to myself, as I pulled the covers over my head and pictured Jacob in his underwear... amongst other things...


End file.
